Magi: The Tale of Hope and Faith
by weezerz2490
Summary: When twin sisters Hope and Faith find themselves separated in a strange world full of magic and danger, they are willing to do anything to find each other again. Follow the twins as they make new friends, forge new alliances, conquer dungeons, master magic, and explore powers they never even knew they had.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: I've been playing with the idea for doing a fanfic for this series for while, and now I think I've finally worked out enough of the kinks to get started! I hope you all enjoy it. Please let me know what you think. (There's a link to a pic of the twins on my profile.)

I own nothing but my OCs.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

* * *

"Hey, listen to this." Faith said to her twin sister Hope as they walked down the aisle, flipping through the pseudo-science mystery pamphlet that she had snagged while they were waiting to board the plane, "It says seventy-five aircraft and hundreds of yachts have vanished in the Bermuda Triangle in the last twenty five years alone—with no wreckage, no emergency transmissions, and no evidence! Isn't that freaky? You know our flight's been redirected so that we'll be passing through part of it because of that storm that popped up off the coast, right? The theories in this thing range from Aliens to something called 'electric fog' to methane gas bubbles and rogue waves."

"Well, I doubt it's aliens." Hope remarked calmly as they took their seats.

"Yeah, if you're gonna come all the way to earth, there's a lot better things to do in the Caribbean than abducting boats and planes." Faith agreed with a sage nod.

"Like snorkeling and swimming with dolphins." Hope said as she slid their carry-on tote under her seat.

"Exactly. I love cruises. They're the perfect way to have a 'family vacation' without having to actually interact with them."

"Yep. We can do whatever we want on our little floating hotel, while Dad spends time with his latest squeeze, and we can avoid them completely and blame it all on bad cell reception."

"Best plan ever!" Faith said with a smirk, giving her sister a high-five as the flight attendant began the usual safety spiel and pointed out the emergency exits. Just because they had to fly down from their boarding school to meet up with father and board the boat with him didn't mean they had to stick with him for the rest of the way. If he thought he had the girls stuck under his thumb, then he was sorely mistaken. Following the pilot's instructions, the girls buckled up and settled in for the flight; Faith with her pamphlet, and Hope with a book called _The Town That Forgot How to Breath._

"But I wonder why he suddenly decided we had to do this during Spring Break?" Hope mused aloud with a frown after they had been flying for a while. "We don't usually have to go along with his little charade of an attempt to show us he cares until later in the summer, when school's out…" Changing their schedule like this was a strange deviation from their busy and aloof father's usual policy of benign neglect.

"Yeah, he's totally cramping our style." Faith huffed impatiently with a much deeper frown. "I mean, spring break is supposed to be for celebrating Mardi Gras and hanging out the more interesting side of the family. I was really looking forward to blowing something up!"

"Can you not talk about explosions while we're on a plane?" Hope chided her. "Some of the other passengers are starting to give us funny looks."

"Seriously?" Faith asked, glancing around. Sure enough, there were a few nervous stares aimed in their direction. "Oh, come on! Since when do terrorists fly first class and walk around wearing Lilly Pulitzer? People are so—"

"—Whoa, look at all that fog!" Hope said abruptly cutting off her sister's rant.

"Huh? That wasn't there a second ago, was it?" Faith asked as she leaned over her sister to have a look out the window.

"No, it just suddenly came up out of nowhere."

"Geez, it's so thick you can't see anything!"

"_!_!_?_" They both cried out in alarm when the plane suddenly dipped and shook. The _fasten seatbelt_ light flicked on with a ding as the pilot's voice made another announcement:

_[We would like to ask that all passengers please remain calm. We are experiencing some unusual weather conditions, and there may be some slight turbulence—]_

The plane shook again, much more violently this time.

"He calls this slight_!_?" Faith asked dubiously as they quickly returned their trays to their upright position while the man behind them cursed about his drink having spilled all over his work laptop.

_[—I repeat, please remain calm! It should all be over very soon.]_ the pilot finished urgently, sounding more nervous than they would have liked.

"Okay, something's totally not right about this." Said Faith nervously. "This is usually the part in the movies where the plane crashes—wanna bet that's some electric fog out there? I bet it's messing with the plane's instruments as we speak!"

"It's all right, Faith!" Hope said, squeezing her sister's hand reassuringly. "Planes encounter wind turbulence all the time without—_!_?" Her eyes widened when she realized that their seats had been surrounded by a mysterious circle of spiraling lines of light and energy. The sisters exchanged a frighten glance as they tightened their grip on each other, and before either of them could say another word, they felt a strange pulling sensation.

The next thing they knew, they had somehow left the plane and found themselves surrounded by more of the strange fog that had enveloped their plane. Up and up they went until the fog faded away to a nothing more than small puff of cloud on the surface of the great blue planet beneath their feet, spinning faster and faster as they traveled further and further away from their homeworld.  
As they spiraled through the mysterious vortex the twins saw things beyond comprehension that most humans could only dream of. Stars and galaxies flew by faster and faster until they had passed so far beyond the edge of the known universe that they reached a place in the fabric of space and time where many of life's different dimensions could be found overlapping and bleeding together. And it was through one of these points of convergence that their path led. The pulling sensation gave way to a momentary feeling of weightlessness. Then came the fall. The girls held onto each other for dear life as gravity took over, and they were hurled screaming towards the surface of another blue planet, where they were plunged down into a bright sky. The girls cried out as they were pulled apart by the shearing force of the winds whipping around them. Their eyes went wide with fear when they felt their fingers slip out of each other's grip. In an instant they were torn apart and sent flying in opposite directions.

_"Faaaaith!_!_!_"

_"Hoooope!_!_!"_

Down on the surface below several individuals of great influence suddenly lifted their heads to sky when they sensed a great disturbance in the Rukh.

'I can feel it. Something just happened…' thought Ren Gyokuen of the Kou Empire as her face twisted with detest. It was far too similar to the one she had _that day_ twenty-nine years ago for her liking.

"What's that?" asked the magi Judar , furrowing his brow as he looked up in the direction of the strange phenomena. "The Rukh are resonating with something…"

"The Rukh are resonating. They are resonating together with a great power!" exclaimed the Chancellor of Magnostadt Academy, Matal Mogamett.

"In the East… someone… no, _two_ people with great power have come." said Lady Scheherazade of Reim when the mass of rukh split in two, gazing off into the distance as if she could see something no one else could.


	2. Chapter 2

**Previously:**

_'I can feel it. Something just happened…' thought Ren Gyokuen of the Kou Empire as her face twisted with distaste. It was far too similar to the one she had that day twenty-nine years ago for her liking._

_"What's that?" asked the magi Judar , furrowing his brow as he looked up in the direction of the strange phenomena. "The Rukh are resonating with something…"_

_"The Rukh are resonating. They are resonating together with a great power!" exclaimed the Chancellor of Magnostadt Academy, Matal Mogamett._

_"In the East… someone… no, two people with great power have come." said Lady Scheherazade of Reim when the mass of rukh split in two, gazing off into the distance as if she could see something no one else could._

* * *

**Chapter 2: Her Name is Hope  
**

* * *

When Hope finally came to again, she found that she was lying in the middle of an empty and deserted plain. For a moment she thought she saw something like a bright white butterfly fluttering past the corner of her eye, but there was nothing there when she looked. She must have imagined it. Night had fallen, the ground was cold and hard beneath the soft grass that was covering it, and she could see a great multitude of stars shining brightly in the dark sky above. That was her first clue that something was very wrong. Not only could she see a ridiculous amount of stars, which meant she was nowhere near a major city, but the constellations weren't right. She wasn't exactly an expert, but she knew enough to be able to recognize when something was wrong. As Hope stared up into the night in confusion the events that had led up to this moment came crashing back, and her eyes widened as she suddenly sat up and began looking around for her sister. She couldn't find Faith anywhere, but for some reason their carry-on bag appeared to have made the trip as well, because she found it sitting on the ground about twenty yards away from her initial location. Hope frowned and furrowed her brow in confusion. How had that happened? Nothing in it appeared to be damaged from the fall (aside from her cell phone, which had a strange message on it about needing to be reactivated), but then, come to think of it, neither was she. How could she have possibly survived all of that? Putting aside their magical little journey through space (where they should have died from lack of oxygen and frozen over like a pair of popsicles), shouldn't they have burned up from the friction of entering a planet's atmosphere? After being pulled away from Faith, she had lost consciousness and couldn't remember how she had managed to make such a miraculous landing at all. Was she dead? Was this Heaven? If so, it was pretty bleak…  
Hope decided she must be dreaming. She and Faith had probably just been knocked out by a slight but sudden change in cabin pressure, and were still safely aboard the plane, being taken care of by a stewardess. Maybe she had even fallen asleep before that and the turbulence was part of the dream too. That idea made her feel better because it meant her real body wouldn't be in any danger, but she still had a niggling feeling that something wasn't quite right.

"Well, whatever." Hope said aloud with a shrug, rubbing her cold arms. 'Dream or not, this place is kind of chilly… I should probably start looking for some form of shelter.' She thought, taking another look around using her scrambled phone's glowing screen for a light source. It was then that she stumbled upon what appeared to be the entrance of a descending stairwell to some kind of underground structure. The inscription carved on the arch over the door at the bottom was in a language that she had never seen before, and the door seemed to glow with a mysterious light. Hope looked around, wondering why something like this was out in the middle of nowhere. Was it supposed to be some kind of bunker or emergency shelter? 'Well, whatever it is, it's probably my best bet for finding shelter for the night.' Hope decided, cautiously poking the glowing door with a stick that she had picked up while walking around. The texture of the door felt soft and gooey, like a mucus membrane… or pudding. 'Speaking of pudding, I could really go for some about now…' she thought, sweat-dropping, when her stomach growled rather loudly. "!" Hope gasped in alarm when the membrane suddenly shot up the stick and took hold of arm, pulling her in before she had a chance to react. "Whoaa!" She exclaimed when she felt a pulling sensation that was eerie similar to the one she had felt on the plane and found herself floating over yet another world. But apart from several pillars of light that looked just like the one she was in, this planet seemed dark and lifeless. The sight of it sent an ominous chill up her spine. Then the light surrounding her increased to such a blinding intensity that she had to shield her eyes. When she opened them again, she was standing in front of a deep, dark, and murky swamp with her back to a wall of solid stone. "I guess it didn't like being poked…" she mumbled with a sigh, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

Meanwhile, as a new day dawned on the Tenzan plateau, the sound of horse hooves beating against the ground rolled like thunder across land. Upon reaching the estimated landing site of the strange phenomena that they had witnessed the previous evening, when a mass of rukh had streaked across the sky like a falling star followed by the earth quaking, General Ren Kouen of the Kou Empire's Western Subjugation Army brought his men to a halt. He then ordered them to dismount and search for any signs that might give them a clue as to what it could have been. Kouen had never seen the rukh act that way before, and he wanted to know why. What had caused it to gather in such a great mass that even non-magicians could see it? Whatever it was, it had to be something powerful… Kouen stopped and stared down at the ground when he reached a spot where the grass had been noticeably disturbed and bent. There was a faint trail of footprints leading away from it.

"This way." He ordered his men, taking with him a small group consisting of his household members and a couple of foot soldiers. The person who left the trail seemed lost and confused, because the tentative footprints circled back several times before they suddenly became much firmer and sure and began proceeding forward in a straight line without any signs of hesitation. These more confident footsteps ended before a stone stairwell that lead down into the earth to what Kouen and his household members immediately recognized as a dungeon; the dungeon of Ipos, according to the inscription upon the archway over the entrance.

"Wait a minute, what's a dungeon doing in a place like this? How long has it been here?" Seishuu asked dubiously. It was rare for a dungeon to be in such a deserted place since people tended to build towns up around them once they were found.

"Was it raised by our country's priest?" En Shou asked.

"..." Kouen said stoically. Somehow he doubted that. They knew where all of the dungeons that Judar had raised were located, and this wasn't one of them. To think there had been a hidden dungeon so close without them knowing… Though he didn't show it, Kouen was surprised.

"Shall we enter, my lord?" asked Kokuton.

"That's right! If we follow the trail inside then we can not only find the one who left it behind, we can conquer another dungeon while we're at it. We can kill two birds with one stone!" said Gaku Kin. Knowing that the answers he sought lay on the other side of the entrance, it didn't take long for Kouen to make his decision. He ordered one of the foot soldiers to return and inform the rest of their plan to enter the dungeon and gave instructions on what their orders were to be if they did not return within a certain time limit.

"Now," he said to others as he took a step forward, "let us advance!"

Upon stepping through the archway Kouen felt the familiar pulling sensation associated with entering a dungeon and was once again transported to that strange world that all of the dungeons appeared to be connected to. When the blinding light that had flared up to obscure his vision faded, he found that they were standing before a very large and very dismal swamp. The footprints were much easier to read in the soft mud. As they moved through the swamp glowing eyes stared at them from the darkness, but none dared to approach them. The trail took many twists and turns, and there were signs of a struggle every now and then, but they followed after their quarry without incident until the trail suddenly stopped dead in its tracks, as if the one who had left them behind had simply vanished into thin air. The only other evidence left behind of someone having been there was a colorful bag that was laying on the ground a several paces away.  
Kouen was about to move to examine it when a voice suddenly called out to them from above.

"Don't move!" Hope shouted, and not a moment too soon, for just at that moment, a giant frog suddenly burst forth from beneath the ground, rising up with its mouth wide open. If Kouen had taken one more step, he would have been devoured by the creature in one gulp. "Yaahhh!" Hope yelled, leaping down from her hiding place in the tree above to wedge a thick branch in the frog's open trap. "C'mon!" she said urgently, grabbing Kouen by the hand to lead him to safety, scooping up her bag as they passed it. "That thing won't leave its nest, but it's tongue has a long reach! If it touches you, you'll be paralyzed!"

Kouen let the strange girl lead the way, taking the time they ran to study her unusual appearance. She looked rather delicate with her soft, fair skin and slender curves, and her face was prettier than average, but her ginger hair was cut short like a boy's, and her amber eyes burned with a desperate strength and pride. Even while running away there was a certain grace about the way she held herself. Her gold jewelry was of the finest craftsmanship that he had ever seen, and the pearls she wore on her wrists, in her ears, and round her neck were of the highest quality. Had it not been for the shortness of her vivid pink and green sleeveless dress and her hair, he might have thought her a noblewoman. But strangest of all was her sandals. At first glance appeared to be gilded with gold and set with precious gems, but looking closer he could see that they were made out of some kind of material he had never seen before. The gems were also false, but they weren't glass. And the closing on the back of her dress and bag were equally strange. Hundreds of tiny teeth fit together so tightly that they almost appeared to be seamlessly connected to each other, and they appeared to be made out of a more opaque version of the same material as the fake jewels. He wanted to know what it was.

"Hey, you! Stop! Where do you think you're going with Kouen-sama_!_?" Seishuu demanded incredulously, indignant on Kouen's behalf even though their fearless leader didn't seem to mind in the least. Just then girl immediately skidded to a halt right in front of a wide patch of slightly lighter colored dirt. The general's household members managed to stop right on their heels, but the foot soldier was not so lucky. He ended up sliding straight past them and into the dirt, disappearing with frightening speed as the ground swallowed him up instantly. Before even Kouen could react, Hope had let go of his hand, dropped her bag, and was diving in after the poor man with a vine that was hanging from the tree next to them tied around her waist. Deeper and deeper she shifted blindly through the quicksand in search of the soldier, pulling tighter and tighter on the vine. When she felt her hand close around the soldier's wrist, she tightened her grip on the vine and started trying to pull her way back to the surface with him. But the Vine could not withstand their combined weight.

_SNAP!_!

"!" Kouen quickly grabbed their lifeline before it too could be swallowed up by the earth and ordered the others to help him pull, and together the five of them managed to drag Hope and the foot soldier out before they suffocated. For a moment all the two of them could do was gasp for air and cough, trying to clear their lungs and throats of the dirt they had swallowed.

"And that—_koff_—gentlemen—_koff_—is what lightning sand looks like—_koff_!" Hope said in between coughs, breathing heavily.

"Lightning sand?" asked Kokuton.

"Well, that's what I call it." Hope replied, clearing her throat. This place reminded her so much of the Fire Swamp from the _Princess Bride_ that she just couldn't resist. "Once you step foot in it, it sucks you up faster than you can blink, and it's nearly impossible to get back out again. Learned that one when I unknowingly kicked an R.O.U.S. in another patch of it further back when the damn thing tried to attack me."

"R.O.U.S.?" asked En Shou.

"Rodent of unusual size." Hope explained with a sigh. "Those things were really vicious a first, but thankfully they haven't come near me since I burned the big one. I guess they learned their lesson… I had to use my hairspray with one of the flame spurts like an impromptu flamethrower. And before you ask, 'flame spurts' are little jets of flame that shoot up from the ground at random, but fortunately they make a popping sound before they go off, so they're fairly easy to avoid."

"How do you know so much about this place already?"

"Well, I've already been here for two days, and it's the kind of place where you either learn as you go, or you don't and you die. I spent most of yesterday stuck hanging up in that tree after that frog-in-waiting attacked me. Fortunately I had an open bottle of Tabasco in my hand when it swallowed me, because it had a bad reaction to the spice and spit me out right away." She had been so hungry that she had resorted to chugging hot sauce in an attempt to fill her empty stomach. "Unfortunately I landed very awkwardly in that tree, and the frog's saliva left me temporarily paralyzed for a long time…" Hope explained, pausing to massage the crick in her neck. That little near death experience had really freaked her out, because it felt way too scary, way too gross, and way too _real_ for a dream, which could only mean one thing: all of this weird shit was really happening. Hope shrugged it off. She couldn't freak out about all this craziness now. She'd worry about it later. First she needed to get out of this place and find her sister. Hope took a deep breath, stood up, and brushed herself off. "Well, anyway, I'm just glad to see other people. It's a little late, but I'm Hope Dupont. Nice to meet you." She said, holding her hand out for a shake.


	3. Chapter 3

**Previously:**

_"How do you know so much about this place already?"_

_"Well, I've already been here for two days, and it's the kind of place where you either learn as you go, or you don't and you die. I spent most of yesterday stuck hanging up in that tree after that frog-in-waiting attacked me. Fortunately I had an open bottle of Tabasco in my hand when it swallowed me, because it had a bad reaction to the spice and spit me out right away." She had been so hungry that she had resorted to chugging hot sauce in an attempt to fill her empty stomach. "Unfortunately I landed very awkwardly in that tree, and the frog's saliva left me temporarily paralyzed for a long time…" Hope explained, pausing to massage the crick in her neck. That little near death experience had really freaked her out, because it felt way too scary, way too gross, and way too real for a dream, which could only mean one thing: all of this weird shit was really happening. Hope shrugged it off. She couldn't freak out about all this craziness now. She'd worry about it later. First she needed to get out of this place and find her sister. Hope took a deep breath, stood up, and brushed herself off. "Well, anyway, I'm just glad to see other people. It's a little late, but I'm Hope Dupont. Nice to meet you." She said, holding her hand out for a shake._

* * *

**Chapter 3: Leap of Faith**

* * *

"…" For a moment the others just stared at Hope and her outstretched hand as if they weren't sure what to do with it. They were waiting to see Kouen's reaction to be being greeted so casually.

"General Ren Kouen of the Kou Empire's Western Subjugation Army." Kouen introduced himself calmly, accepting her hand. Though they could have taken care of that frog just fine on their own, the fact still remained that she had risked her life twice to help them, and if not for her quick thinking one of his men would have most certainly been lost.

Hope smiled, relieved that he had accepted.

"I see, so I was right in thinking you were the one in charge. Sorry for grabbing you so suddenly back there, but we were pressed for time, and I figured the others would follow if I grabbed their leader..." She said with an apologetic smile, rubbing the back of her neck a bit sheepishly.

"Hey, is that all the respect you can muster, girl? That's no way to talk to a prince!" Kin scolded her.

"Huh?" Hope said, blinking. "Prince?"

"You… Don't try to tell me you've never heard of Ren Kouen, the first prince of the Kou Empire…" said Kokuton as they all stared at her with some rather offended expressions on their faces.

"Uh, don't take this the wrong way, but, um… no." Hope answered a little nervously. "I've never even heard of the Kou Empire. Is it supposed to be famous or something?"

"Damn it_!_!" Kin cursed. "This girls really know how to piss people off!"

"There's no way you haven't heard of the great Kou Empire! Our Empire's name is known around the world!" said En Shou.

"I say we finish her off right here, right now!" said Seishuu.

"Stand down!" Kouen ordered his men sternly. "Don't be so hasty. There are still many questions that need to be answered, and I believe she holds the key. Where did you come from and why are you here, Hope Dupont? Do you know what disturbed the rukh?" he asked the odd girl. The excited (and a little obsessive) look in his eyes piercing red eyes was beginning to make Hope feel a little uncomfortable.

"Uh, well, your majesty… it's kind of complicated…" she began a bit lamely, not sure where to start or how much she should tell them. She didn't want them to think she was crazy. "For now let's just say I'm from somewhere really far away. I'll be happy to answer all of your questions in greater detail once we're out of here, but for now I'd like to focus on surviving whatever this place is alive and in one piece." What she had said wasn't completely unreasonable, but Kouen wanted answers. And he wanted them _now_. "Hey_!_?" she cried indignantly when he grabbed her tightly by the arm and pulled her so close that their noses almost touched as he leaned down.

"Tell me everything you know right now!" He commanded her. There was a really scary expression on his face now as he glared down at her. Hope gulped nervously. This guy was way too intense!

"I-I don't care if you're a prince or what country you rule—I'm an American citizen, and I will not be intimidated_!_!" she retorted, doing her best to put on a brave face. After everything she'd seen and been through already a talking dragon, a guy with snakes for hair, a pig-like giant, and a tyrannical prince who looked like he could be a final boss in _Nobunaga's Ambition _were nothing! "If you want to talk then let's talk, but I don't appreciate being threatened or manhandled! If you don't let me go, I won't tell you anything."

"Wow, this girl has some balls!" said Kin.

"More like a death wish!" said Seishuu. But to their surprise, Kouen did release her.

"Very well." He said as he straightened back up. "Start talking."

"Fine. But I doubt you'll believe me…" Hope grumbled with a pout, rubbing her sore arm. "My sister and I were flying together on a plane—it's a kind of flying machine—when we were suddenly beamed up in this mysterious tunnel of light, and the next thing we knew we were being transported from our world to this one. Unfortunately we got separated and pulled apart by the wind shear as we were falling through the atmosphere, so I have no idea where she is. I don't know how I survived the fall because I lost consciousness on the way down, but I'm betting all my hopes that if I did, then so did she. So all I want to do is get out of whatever this place is and find her. I know, it sounds totally insane, and you probably think I'm nuts now; but that's what happened. I don't know how or why it happened, but it did."

"Don't tell such an obvious lie!" said Seishuu.

"It's true, I swear! Look, if I was gonna risk lying to ya'll, don't you think I would've tried fooling you with something that was a hell of a lot more believable?" Hope pointed out shortly, crossing her arms.

"What do you call this?" Kouen asked bluntly, pointing at the zipper on her bag.

"It's a zipper. We call it that because of the sound it makes, see." Hope answered calmly, zipping and unzipping the bag for him to demonstrate.

"What material is it made with?"

"Mainly plastic."

"And your shoes?"

"The fake jewels are plastic, the straps are gold pleather which is a type of artificial leather made from yet another type of plastic, and the soles are artificial rubber. The buckle is stainless steel."

"Is 'plastic' an abundant material in your world?"

"Yes, but only because we make lots of it. Plastic is a man-made material. And if you think that's interesting, I have plenty of other goodies in this bag that I'd be more than happy to show you in exchange for more information about this world." Hope replied seriously. "I don't want to continue stumbling around blindly. Ignorance won't help me find my sister."

"Hmph. I see." Said Kouen. "Unfortunately, it seems we shall have to continue this conversation later."

"Yes, it appears we have some uninvited guests…" Hope agreed, narrowing her eyes slightly, as the hisses of the R.O.U.S.s that had begun to surround them increased in volume. She carefully reached into her bag and withdrew a pen. "How do you want to handle this? Judging by the number of eyes, there are hundreds of them…"

"Young master, please leave this to us." Said Kin with a smirk. "There is no need for you to dirty your hands dealing with these rats." With that he and Seishuu, Kokuton, and Shou prepared to activate their household vessels.

"Come, Household Born From Phenex, I Consecrate My Body To You, Become One With Me_!_!"

"Come, Household Born From Astaroth, I Consecrate My Body To You, Become One With Me_!_!"

"Come, Household Born From Agares, I Consecrate My Body To You, Become One With Me_!_!"

To their great shock nothing happened, and they all remained as they were. Shou tried to belt out a roar of fire, but all that came out was a small puff of smoke. The foot soldier coughed awkwardly in the stunned silence that followed.

"Uh… was that supposed to do something?" Hope asked, sweat-dropping.

"Sh-Shut up_!_!" snapped Seishuu. It was embarrassing enough already without her pointing out their failure.

Seeing their enemy looking so confused, the R.O.U.S.s assumed they had caught them off-guard and attacked. That turned out to be a big mistake.  
Even without their Djinn powers Kin still had his spear, Shou still had his tough dragon hide and claws, Kokuton had his horns and claws, and Seishuu… Well, they'd all had military training, and Seishuu was a decent kicker. But the real star of the show was Kouen. With his sword the prince and general cut down giant rat after giant rat without so much as breaking a sweat or even the slightest hint of change in his expression. Hope was impressed, but there was no time to stare with R.O.U.S.s swarming them on all sides. With pen in hand she executed several well placed puño strikes using the pen to stab any rats that came near her in the eyes and other soft spots and nerve points. With her legs she delivered powerful kicks to their noses, stomped on their clawed paws, and kneed them in the gut. She felt kind of bad since she had once owned a hamster, but these things were no where near as cute as George, and they weren't holding back in their attacks, so neither would she. Everyone fought their best to defend themselves against the attacking rodents. Even the foot soldier was doing his part. But it seemed like for every rat they took down, ten more would appear.

"_!_!" Hope gasped in alarm when another rat leaped at her while her hands were still full with the first.

_SLASH!_

Before it lay a scratch on her Kouen cleaved the rodent in half.

"Wow, thanks a bunch!" Hope told him sincerely, grateful for the save.

"Damn, there's no end to these things_!_!" Kin cursed in frustration. To think they would have this much trouble against a bunch of over-sized rodents… An hour ago he would have thought the idea utterly laughable.

"They have a pack mentality. We need to take out their leader!" said Hope.

"And which one would that be?" asked Kokuton.

"The big one!" answered Hope.

"They're all big_!_!" cried the foot soldier.

"Trust me, you'll know it when you see it!"

And they did. With the rest of the R.O.U.S.s dropping like flies, it didn't take long for their leader to appear. He was _huge_—almost twice the size of En Shou, the tallest of them all. Kouen tightened his grip on his sword as he and his men prepared to face the monstrous rodent, but there proved to be no need. Hope suddenly rushed forward with her can of hairspray and a lighter, and sprayed the huge beast with a jet of flames. The creature howled in pain and immediately turned tail and ran away in fear. The remaining R.O.U.S.s retreated along with their leader with their tails between their legs.

"Wh… Why didn't you do that in first place_!_?" demanded Seishuu incredulously. "If you had a weapon like that—"

"Because there wasn't much left in the can!" Hope answered a bit defensively. "I had to make sure it would still work for the one that mattered. For some reason fire really terrifies the big ones. And for the record, this isn't a weapon, it's beauty product." She added, giving her hair a faint touch-up spray for emphasis, though it was more air than spray at this point. "It just happens to be flammable."

"Whatever, let's just get out of here before they come back." Suggested Kin. "We still have to find the treasure room."

"Treasure room?" Hope asked.

"In order to leave this dungeon we have to find the Djinn. The Djinn is always located in the treasure room." Kouen answered calmly as he started walking, keeping his sword out.

'Djinn? As in a genie?' Hope wondered. "So this place is called a dungeon?" she asked aloud. "Ya'll do this kind of thing often?"

"Well, I wouldn't say 'often', but we do have prior experience." Answered Shou. "And what about you? For someone who claims not to know what this place is, you seem rather well prepared. Although your methods might seem crude at first glance, your foot work was solid, and your movement was not that of an amateur."

"Thanks, it took a lot of training to reach that point. I learned Eskrima for self-defense, but until now I've never really had to use it."

"I've never heard of that style of martial arts before. What was that weapon you used?" asked Kokuton.

"Oh, that was just a pen; a normal writing utensil. Turning everyday items into impromptu weapons is a hallmark of Eskrima. That's why I picked it. In a society where most law abiding citizens can't carry swords or other weapons without a permit, while criminals seem to have no problem getting their hands on them, it seemed the most practical. I mean, a girl's got to be able to defend herself, right?" Hope explained with a shrug. If not for that she probably wouldn't have survived this long.

They continued on through the swamp without further incident thanks to Hope's help with identifying and avoiding other traps and dangers that she had encountered before, and from Kouen and his men she learned that time appeared to move faster inside this dungeon than it did outside, because they had only entered a few hours after her, yet from her point of view a couple of days had already passed. As they walked the soft mud of the swamp eventually gave way to hard rock, and they found themselves facing the dungeon's next challenge. Before them was the mouth of a cave that opened up to a great bottomless pit. The carving of a lion's head jutted out from the center of the edge of the pit. Mounted on one of the walls of the cave was a stone tablet that had been carved with symbols that reminded Hope of cuneiform.

"That is the language of Torran." Kouen said for her benefit. "It appears to be instructions. 'Only by leaping from the lion's head will the challenger prove his worth.'"

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Seishuu.

Hope was pretty sure she had heard something like that somewhere before. She looked back at the lion's head and the bottomless pit. And then it clicked. This was straight out of an Indiana Jones movie.

"It's a leap of faith." She said, stepping up on the lion's head to take the plunge.

"Hold on! There's no need to be…" the foot soldier started to say, concerned for her safety, but his words fell on deaf ears as Hope leaped forward into the abyss. Her eyes widened in surprise and panic when she continued to fall instead of landing on an 'invisible' bridge like she had thought she would.

"WHAAAAAA—" she cried out as she plunged into darkness. The others quickly hurried over, trying to see what had become of her. For a moment there was only silence, and then there came up a strong hurricane-force gust of wind from the deeps.

"—AAAAAH_!_!_!_" Hope finished screaming as she shot up into the air and landed on a stone bridge that had blended into the cavern's ceiling, giving the illusion that it was much lower than they had been led to believe. 'O-Oh... so it was up here...' she thought shakily. At the far end of the camouflaged bridge she could see a hole in the wall that undoubtedly led to a tunnel to the next room. "W-Well… I think I found the exit…" Hope announced to the others while she tried to regain some of her composure, a little chagrined. She hoped none of them had seen up her skirt.

"That girl's insane." Said Seishuu, sweat-dropping.

"Yes, but at least we know what we have to do to cross now." Said Kin.

"…" Kouen stared up at Hope as she sat on the bridge above taking deep breaths to calm herself down. The hint of a smirk formed on his lips. She might be insane, but she was his kind of crazy and he liked her spirit. He stepped up on the lion's head and took the plunge.


	4. Chapter 4

**Previously:**

_"That girl's insane." Said Seishuu, sweat-dropping._

_"Yes, but at least we know what we have to do to cross now." Said Kin._

_"…" Kouen stared up at Hope as she sat on the bridge above taking deep breaths to calm herself down. The hint of a smirk formed on his lips. She might be insane, but she was his kind of crazy and he liked her spirit. He stepped up on the lion's head and took the plunge._

* * *

**Chapter 4: Her Name is Faith  
**

* * *

To Hope's immense relief the tunnel they entered once everyone had safely crossed the bridge led straight to the treasure room. At least, that's what the others said it was. For all appearances the room seemed to be filled with nothing but items carved from stone.

"So, what now?" she asked. Kouen raised his sword and concentrated, silently asking his Djinns to help him locate the vessel of the one in this dungeon. He wasn't sure it would work since something had been blocking his household members and himself from equipping earlier, but whatever it was seem to have lifted. A beam of light shot out from his blade and directed him to a small oil lamp. Hope watched as he approached the lamp and touched it. In an instant all of the stone in the room transformed into precious metals and gems. The eight-pointed star on the oil lamp shined with a black light, and from its spout leaped a great blue creature with white wings, the head and body of a lion, the tail of a hare, and the feet of a goose.

"Wow…" Hope breathed in amazement. She had expected the Djinn to look a little more human… but that was undeniably cool.

"I am Ipos, Djinn of Wisdom and Valor." The Djinn's voice boomed with authority. "Who will become king?" He asked, scanning the room for candidates.

"… King?" Hope asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion. "Does this mean you're not the type of djinn who grants wishes?"

"Only if your wish is to have the power to become king." Responded Ipos, turning his sharp gaze on her. "Do you?"

"Not really." She answered rather bluntly, to the surprise of everyone in the room. "With great power come great responsibility, and I think I have enough on my plate already."

"Then why have you entered this dungeon?" asked the Djinn, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Would you believe I was lost and looking for shelter?" she said with an apologetic smile. "Anyway, if you want someone to be king, you might want to go with him." She said, pointing to Kouen. "He's already a real prince and everything. I doubt I'm " Kouen raised and eyebrow at her while his men stared at her in shock. Aside from Prince Kouha, they had never seen someone turn down the power of a Djinn before. And in her case, she was practically giving it away to a stranger she barely knew.

"No, he has already made contracts with three Djinn. I didn't like that, so I blocked his Djinn until you passed the trials to reach this room. Besides, I think you and I would be much better suited to each other." Said Ipos. The corner of his mouth curved upwards into the hint of smile. "For just as you are not a normal human, I am not a normal Djinn."

"!" Hope started as an unreadable expression flickered across her face. "… What do you mean by that?" she asked cautiously, almost bristling at the implication.

"The flow of your magoi is strange, but you are not a magician. I can tell that not only are you not of this world, but you are half fallen."

"!" Kouen's eyes widened slightly in surprise while the others stared at her in shock. Fallen? That happy-go-lucky girl?

"Fallen? What's that supposed to mean?" Hope asked, furrowing her brow.

"At some point in your life, you felt that you had reason to curse your fate and began to fall into depravity, a state of separation from the flow of the white rukh and Solomon's will." Ipos explained. "Am I wrong?"

"…" Hope's expression darkened for a moment. "Maybe, but even so it's none of your business. Ya'll keep going on about 'rukh this' and 'rukh that', but I don't even know what rukh is. And whose this 'Solomon'? Are you taking about King Solomon, the son of King David?"

"You know of King Solomon and King David_!_?" Kouen asked excitedly.

"Huh? Well, yeah." Said Hope, not seeing what the big deal was. "Pretty much everybody knows about them where I come from." After all, they were major players in the Old Testament of the Bible.

"Does this mean you come from _the _other world that Solomon ruled over, a world where there were many different languages and races?" Kouen demanded.

"Well, there's lots of different languages and different kinds of people. But isn't that true of this world, too?" Hope asked. I mean, most of the people he had with him were super unique-looking.

"It isn't." answered Ipos. "And I can tell from your magoi that you are not from the same world as the King Solomon I knew." Not to mention the fact that Alma Torran had died long ago. "They may be similar, but they are not the same."

"Yeah, I don't doubt that." Hope agreed, though it was an odd coincidence. "In my world djinns only exist in myths and legends. And we don't have 'magic' in our world, not like this." She noticed that Kouen seemed a little disappointed to hear that, but he didn't look entirely convinced. "Anyway, I know why I'm not normal, but what about you? When you said you weren't a normal Djinn, what did you mean by that?" Ipos' lips curled into a smile.

"You'll see," he said with a pounce in her direction as he started to glow again, diving into the heart-shaped ring on her finger, "when the time is right…"

"Wha?" Hope said, taken aback when a seal in the form of an eight-pointed star formed on the gold heart. "Wait just a—_!_?" Before she could protest, another eight-pointed star formed under their feet, and numerous sacks of treasure appeared with in it as it began to glow with power, transporting the dungeon challengers away with their riches. The next thing Hope knew they were all sitting on their pile of treasure in a deep hole where the dungeon had once been. "Okay… What just happened?"

"You were chosen by the Djinn, and as a result we were released from the dungeon." Said Kouen as he extended a hand to help her up. Hope accepted, and the moment she was in his grip, he pulled her close and held onto her with a tight, vice-like grip. That scary intense look of possessive curiosity was back in his eyes. "And now, you're going to tell me _everything_. Just as promised." He commanded her with a tone that left no room for argument. A bead of nervous sweat slid down the side of Hope's face as she stared up at the man looming ominously over her. Wherever Faith was, she hoped her sister was doing better than she was!

Now if you, like Hope wish to learn what became of Faith, then we shall have go back to the night when Hope first entered Ipos' dungeon.

As Faith lay on the cool sand, she became aware of the sensation of someone poking her in the cheek.

"Mnn… Five more minutes…" she groaned, rolling over without opening her eyes. The poking stopped for a moment, but then she felt a pair of small hands start to fondle her breasts. Faith furrowed her brow and frowned in annoyance. What the hell? Maybe if she ignored it, it would just go away… Nope! Now she could feel someone rubbing their face against her breasts. "Cut it out already_!_!_!_ Can't you see I'm tryin' to sleep here_!_!_?_" she shouted incredulously, sending whoever had dared to molest her flying with a powerful slap.

"Oww_!_!" the little boy with blue hair cried as he landed on the ground a couple of feet away, massaging his poor cheek. "That hurt, Onee-san!"

"It was supposed to. No one touches these puppies without permission, got it?" Faith retorted bluntly while she fluffed her breasts and made sure they were still tucked securely in her bra. "Anyway, who are you, kid? Why are we out in the middle of a desert? Where are we?" she asked, finally taking note of her surroundings. Not only were surrounded by nothing but sand, but the kid was wearing Arabian-style clothing. And for some reason a flute was hanging around his neck.

"Oh, my name is Aladdin!" the strange kid introduced himself excitedly, looking extremely happy for some reason. Faith had no way of knowing, but this was his first time meeting someone new in the outside world. "And this is my friend, Ugo-kun!" With that Aladdin blew into his flute, but instead of music what came out was two giant blue arms.

"…" Faith was so shocked she nearly bit her tongue in half. 'Well, that's something you don't see every day…' she thought, sweat-dropping. 'Am I still asleep? No, I can't be. My hand still stings from that slap I gave him earlier…' As Faith continued to stare at the giant arms, they suddenly turned bright pink and disappeared back inside the flute.

"What's the matter, Ugo-kun?" Aladdin asked his odd friend "Are you shy?"

"Um… That wasn't a genie just now by any chance, was it?" Faith asked as she pointed at the flute, still feeling a little stunned.

"Genie?" Aladdin asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

"Oh, uh… what's that other thing they're called…? Oh, yeah! Djinn! Is Ugo-kun a Djinn?" She asked. Come to think of it, why were they using Japanese honorifics while speaking English? It made it sound like they were in a dubbed anime or something… Actually, that would be kind of awesome.

"Oh, you know about Djinn, onee-san?" Aladdin asked, perking up considerably. "Do you know where I can find some? I promised Ugo-kun that I would look for his friends."

"Well, my best guess would be The Cave of Wonders, but I'm pretty sure Disney made that one up, so your guess is as good as mine…" said Faith. "By the way, you haven't seen another girl who looks just like me lying somewhere around here, have you? It's a long story, but I kind of got separated from my sister."

"No, sorry." Aladdin answered with a shake of his head. "You're the first person I've ever met aside from than Ugo-kun. I found by following those lights."

"I see… Lights, huh?" Faith said, sweat-dropping. What the heck was that supposed to mean? This kid didn't seem like he got out much.

"Hey, since we're both looking for someone, why don't we look together?" Aladdin suggested.

"Uh, sure. I guess we could do that…" said Faith. "You got a map?"

"Nope!" Aladdin answered brightly.

"But you know where we are, right?"

"Not a clue."

"How many wishes do you have left?"

"Wishes?"

"Yeah, Ugo-kun's a djinn, so he grants wishes, right?"

"I don't think Ugo-kun's that kind of Djinn…"

'So that's a 'no', huh? Haha, great. That's just fan-flipping-tastic.' Faith thought wryly as the corner of her mouth twitched slightly. In other words, they were totally lost and up shit-creek without a paddle. "Well, I guess we'd better start walking then…" It was gonna be hotter than hell once the sun came up, and neither of them had any water. "Oh, yeah. My name's Faith by the way."

"Faith… I like that name." said Aladdin with a smile. "Can I touch those soft things on your chest again, Faith?"

"You mean my boobs?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nice try, kid, but I'm gonna have to say no."

"Aw, but I like boobs! I like them a lot~!" He said with a dreamy expression on his face as he followed her, starting to drool.

"Yeah, boobs are fun." Faith agreed as they walked off into the night together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Previously:**

_"Faith… I like that name." said Aladdin with a smile. "Can I touch those soft things on your chest again, Faith?"_

_"You mean my boobs?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "Nice try, kid, but I'm gonna have to say no."_

_"Aw, but I like boobs! I like them a lot~!" He said with a dreamy expression on his face as he followed her, starting to drool._

_"Yeah, boobs are fun." Faith agreed as they walked off into the night together._

* * *

**Chapter 5: His Name is Aladdin**

* * *

'So, this is how it all ends…' Faith thought, dragging her tired feet through the hot desert sand, collapsing dramatically to the ground. 'Frying to death in the sun… without ever seeing Hope again…' It felt like they had been schlepping through this damn desert for an eternity without any food or water or shelter from the sweltering sun

"Ah… Faith-nee… I think I see something up ahead…" Aladdin said weakly, pointing a trembling finger at something a few yards in front of them. Faith made an effort to lift her head and squinted to focus her blurred vision. It looked like the ruins of some kind of building. But more importantly, there were people in it, and where there was people, there was water!

"We're saved!" she cried, pushing herself back onto her feet.

"Hur…ray…!" Aladdin cheered weakly as they used the last of their strength to drag themselves over to the ruins. "Oji-san… help us… we need water…" he cried, desperate for a drink.

Unfortunately these people were not friendly. The group of rough and dangerous men was actually a band of thieves, one that was famous among the locals for preying on the weak who traveled across the desert.

"You come to a den of thieves and ask them to help you?" their leader asked with a laugh. "Take everything they have and sell it. Although I don't think we'll get too much. It's just one little kid and a weak woman, though she is pretty fine…" he said with a lecherous grin as the thieves reached for them.

"D-Dammit_!_!" Faith cursed, gritting her teeth. "Give me a stick… and I'll show ya'll how _weak_ I am…_!_!"

"GYAHAHAHA…_!_!_!_" the thieves continued to laugh even harder until Aladdin blew into his flute, and Ugo's huge arms came out. _"GYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!_!_!_"

The thieves' screams echoed across the desert as Ugo proceeded to put the hurt on them.

"Food… give me food…" Aladdin groaned.

"Water…" Faith demanded sternly with a scary expression on her face as she grabbed the leader by the ankle when he tried to run away.

"Noooo! Don't eat me! Gyaaah!" the leader cried.

A few days later in the bustling Oasis city of Utan, Faith and Aladdin were looking a little bit better thanks the supplies they had 'borrowed' from the thieves, but both of them were such big eaters that they had once again run out of food by the time they reached the city. As they were walking around looking for something to eat, the wind lifted one of the flaps covering the back of a cart, giving them a glimpse of its cargo.

"Ooh~!" Faith exclaimed excitedly at the site of the fresh watermelons. "Look, Aladdin, let's get those!" she said, jumping into the cart to grab one without hesitation.

"Eh? Is it all right to just take them?" Aladdin asked. Over the past few days Faith had been teaching him all about the concepts of boundaries and personal belongings.

"Yeah, it's fine! I'll pay for them after we eat." She said carelessly, digging in. It felt good to be out of the sun with a ripe and juicy melon to munch on.

"Okay, then!" Aladdin said, diving in.

The two of them had nearly devoured their weight in melons when the someone else lifted the flap. It was two girls.

"Kyaaah_!_!" the Indian-looking one shrieked, flinching in shock at the sight of the ravaged melons and the abnormally large and engorged bellies of the culprits.

"Who—Who the hell are you_!_?" the one with blonde hair demanded, brandishing a sword at them while she stood protectively in front of the other girl.

"Hey, I'm Aladdin." Aladdin introduced himself pleasantly with a little wave.

"And I'm Faith." Faith added with a peace sign.

"We're travelers." They finished together.

"We were just having a meal of this sweeeet red fruit!" Aladdin continued with an innocent smile while Faith spat out the seeds from her melon.

"The hell you were, you sneak thieves_!_!" the blonde girl snapped angrily.

"Dude, chillax. We're not thieves. I've got your money right here." Faith told her, pulling a wad of twenties from her wallet.

"…" the two girls stared at her like they were worried for her sanity for a moment.

"The hell are we supposed to do with a bunch of useless paper_!_?" the blonde demanded incredulously.

"It's not useless, it's… Oh…" Faith said, deflating slightly as something finally clicked. That's right, she was in another world now. Of course they wouldn't accept American dollars… "Oops! Sorry, Aladdin, but it looks like I messed up."

"I'll say_!_!" The blonde snapped. "Those fruits are our precious merchandise!"

"… Precious…?" Aladdin asked, starting to feel bad. "Then we've done something bad, Faith-nee… W-What should we do…?"

"You'll work without pay for three days_!_!" The blonde roared furiously.

And so, that's how Aladdin and Faith ended up working for a caravan for a little while.

"Wow, there are so many things for sale…" Aladdin said as the four of them walked through the market streets carrying more products to sell. It turned out the blonde's name was Leila, and the Indian girl was called Sahsa.

"Yeah, it's like a bazaar." Said Faith.

"That's because it _is_ a bazaar." Leila deadpanned.

"A bazaar?" Aladdin asked curiously.

"You really don't know about them?" she asked dubiously.

"You really shouldn't underestimate our ignorance." Faith quipped with a gleam in her eye.

"Right…" Leila responded, sweat-dropping. "Well, people gather around oases like this one so they'll have water, and a town gets made. Caravans like ours travel to those cities, and bazaars naturally form as a result."

"Ohh…" said Aladdin, impressed. "A journey… It sounds fun."

"Yeah…" Faith agreed with a wistful sigh. If her own trip had gone to plan, she'd be sipping virgin daiquiris poolside with her sister right now instead of lugging a bunch of heavy fruit around in the desert.

"It is fun." Said Sahsa. "But it's not all fun. There are a lot of bands of thieves in the desert…"

"Bands of thieves?" asked Aladdin.

"We've met some before, remember? Those are scary people who were hiding out in the desert…" Faith reminded him.

"Oh, right."

"That's right. Thieves are scary. They steal merchandise from passing caravans. And thieves live by selling that merchandise on the black market like that…" Sahsa continued to explain as they passed a shady back alley full of rough and suspicious-looking characters.

"Ohh…" said Aladdin.

'I guess somethings never change…' Faith thought wryly.

"Don't go 'ohh' to that." Leila told Aladdin. "How do you not know this?"

"What?" Aladdin and Faith asked when they realized Leila had been staring at them for awhile with a really distrustful look in her eyes.

"I don't trust you guys." Leila stated bluntly, placing herself protectively between them and Sahsa. "Don't do anything weird to Sahsa. I'll slap you!"

'Oh, I'm so scared.' Faith thought boredly while Aladdin flinched in shock and quaked with fear in his eyes, as if traumatized by the mere thought. Faith sweat-dropped. She didn't hit him that hard, did she?

"Sorry about that." Sahsa apologized to them, squatting down to give Aladdin a pat on the head. "Apparently, there is a thief who pretends to be dying in order to sneak into caravans… Leila's kind, so she's worried about caravan. Don't think badly of her."

"…" Leila crossed her arms and looked away.

"Onee-san, you have a scary face… but you care about your friends!" Aladdin praised(?) her with a smile.

"Well, thanks." Leila mumbled a bit tersely to cover her shyness.

"Hehe, you big softie~!" Faith teased with a knowing smirk.

"Quiet, you!" Leila snapped, blushing furiously. "Anyway, why did you guys head out into the desert in the first place?"

"I'm looking for my twin sister. We got separated." said Faith. "Speaking of which, you haven't seen anybody else walking around with this gorgeous face, have you?"

"Can't say I have." Leila deadpanned. As they reach the stand the caravan had set up to sell their goods at.

"Well, I'm searching for treasure, with my friend!" said Aladdin excitedly. The kid was practically sparkling. "Especially musical instruments and lamps made of metal…"

"Oh… does that count as treasure?" Leila asked, sweat-dropping. They sell that stuff everywhere… "Why are you looking for that stuff?"

"My friend is looking for something." Aladdin replied.

"Other than your sister?" she asked Faith.

"He's talking about a different friend." Faith clarified.

"Yeah. I want to find it and make him happy." Aladdin continued with a smile. "He's my precious friend, so if he's happy, then I'm happy! I'll introduce you to him! This… is my precious friend… Ugo-kun!" Aladdin said proudly, holding up his flute. Leila blinked.

"Isn't that a flute…?" she asked after a brief moment of awkward silence.

"It's not a flute, it's Ugo-kun. Right, Ugo-kun?" Aladdin asked the flute. Faith bit her lip to keep from smiling. She had a feeling she knew what was coming next, and she couldn't wait to see Leila's reaction. "Will you thank her for the fruit from this morning?" he asked Ugo. Aladdin took a deep breath and blew into the flute. Sure enough, the shocked expressions on the faces of Leila and the rest of the caravan when the Djinn's giant muscular blue arms emerged from the flute were positively priceless. Ugo's hands hovered in the air before Leila for only a short moment before quickly snatching the melons in her arms, and quickly retreated back inside the flute before anyone could stop him. Leila and the others just stood, completely shell-shocked and white as sheets.

"… Pfft_!_! Bwahahaha_!_!_!_" Faith erupted in a fit of laughter, unable to hold it in any longer.

"Hey, Ugo-kun!" Aladdin said nervously, wondering what had gotten into the Djinn. "Sorry, he's a little shy… especially around women…"

"G… _GYAAAAAAH!_!" Leila screamed suddenly, finally snapping out of her stupor. "Wh-Wh-What were those arms… or were they snakes_!_? There were two of them_!_?"

"No… It was Ugo-kun!" Aladdin said brightly.

"Nice one, Ugo-kun!" Faith said, giving the flute a thumbs up.

'This kid and this girl… aren't just some normal kid ignorant of the world and your average weirdo… They've tamed some strange monster that's in that flute_!_!' Leila thought, extremely freaked out and alarmed. 'Who are these people_!_?'

"Hey, look…" One thief said to another when they spotted the caravan's group. "That girl… is she…?"

"Ahh, I had to work so hard thanks to those suspicious guys…" Leila grumbled as she entered the tent everyone was sharing later that evening. "Well, it's for the caravan…" She kneeled down beside Sahsa's bed to make sure her friend was tucked in properly. "I won't let them try anything funny…" Leila froze when she lifted the blanket and saw that Aladdin had wrapped himself around the sleeping Sahsa with his face buried in between her boobs with her shirt open. In an instant Leila snatched the little pervert and threw him across the room.

_WHAM!_

Aladdin's face slammed into the floor of the tent so hard that it gave him a nose bleed.

"What are you doing…_!_!" he cried, trembling with tears in his eyes while he cradled his poor nose. This girl was even more violent than Faith!

"What were_ you_ doing_!_!" Leila retorted furiously. How dare he molest Sahsa in her sleep!

"Heh heh heh… She was warm, so I ended up sleeping next to her." Aladdin said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"You call that sleeping next to her? I had to tear you off of her_!_! Why don't you sleep with your friend, over there?"

Aladdin glanced over at Faith, who was sprawled out on top of a blanket in a deep sleep with a little drool on the corner of her mouth. She must be dreaming about food again.

"No, I'd rather sleep with Sahsa." Answered Aladdin with a shake of his head. Sahsa was nice, and her boobs were bigger.

"No, you come sleep next to me then." Leila told him. "I'll keep an eye on you."

"No, I'll pass!" Aladdin said with a smile. "You've got all those muscles, and you look hard…" The next thing he knew, Leila had him by the cheeks. "Gyaaah!" he cried as she pinched them and stretched them to punish him.

"Never touch Sahsa again, okay_!_?" she whisper-yelled. "She's my 'precious friend'. She saved me when I was dying in the desert. She was so kind to me. And she's the first person I've been able to call my friend. That's why I want to protect her and the caravan and make them happy!" Leila finished determinedly.

"Oh… so that's it." said Aladdin.

"Hee-hee, thank you." Sahsa told her friend with a smile and a laugh. She had heard the whole thing.

"Oh, so you were awake? I feel so lame having said that…" Leila said, blushing heavily in embarrassment.

"I knew it without you saying it. You're so kind, Leila." Sahsa said brightly.

"N-No, I'm not!" Leila said bashfully as she rubbed the back of her neck. She looked pretty happy though.

"You have a strong sense of justice, and you care for your friends."

"That's not true…" Leila said shyly, blushing.

"No getting embarrassed. Since we're so close, I know everything about you!" Sahsa said with a grin. Leila's smile faltered slightly.

"…" She stared down at the floor of the tent, suddenly feeling uneasy. No, she didn't… because if she did know, then…

The next day the caravan was ready to move on.

"I was thinking we would take route three to the next city. What do you think, Leila?" asked the leader (who also happened to be Sahsa's father).

"No, I don't think we should take route three…" Leila answered seriously as she stared down at the map, furrowing her brow. "A band of thieves has their hideout on route three… or so I've heard. It would be safer to take a detour down route four."

"Father," said Sahsa, "if that's what Leila thinks…"

"Hmm." The leader said thoughtfully.

"Leila's opinion seems to hold a lot of weight, huh?" Faith commented while she was petting one of the camels with Aladdin.

"Leila knows the routes well and is always guiding us." Sahsa explained.

"Ohh… that's amazing…" Aladdin said with a smile.

"But taking route three would be much shorter…" another member of the caravan said.

"The thieves' hideout might not actually be there…" someone else suggested hopefully.

"No_!_!" Leila shouted anxiously.

"…_!_?" The others gasped, startled. "What is it, Leila…?"

"…" Leila clenched her fists. She couldn't let them go that way! Because, the third route was…

"Hey, Leila!" someone called out from the street.

"!" Leila gasped, turning pale when she saw who it was. "You…" She said shakily, breaking out into a nervous sweat. She looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"You're Leila, right?" one of the thieves who had spotted her the previous day asked with a grin.

"So, you survived." Remarked the second.

"You've grown up!" the first thief said with a laugh, patting her on the back.

"What band are you in now?"

"…?" Faith raised a dubious eyebrow at the scene before her. What was up with those guys? Couldn't they tell they were bother Leila. The normally spirited girl looked uncomfortable and awkward trapped between the two men.

"Who are those dirty guys…?" Aladdin asked, causing a nervous member of the caravan to cover his mouth.

"Shhh! These ill-bred men… they're thieves that were in the black market…" the caravan member warned him. "It looks like they know Leila…"

'Doesn't look like she wants to know them, though…' thought Faith.

"What's going on…?" The caravan leader asked the thieves.

"You don't know…? Really?" the thieves asked. Leila's eyes widened in fear of what they would say next. "She's a thief!"

"_!_?" Every in the caravan gasped, flinching in shock. Leila paled and broke out in a cold sweat, looking horrified. They knew…_!_!

"A while ago, she was part of our band of thieves. She would pretend to be dying and sneak into caravans. Then she'd pretend to lead the way and lead them straight to our hideout."

"…!" the caravan gasped. Then, the thief in the rumors… "That was you…_!_?" they asked Leila, horrified.

"….!" Leila clenched her fists, unable to look them in the eye.

"But just now they said 'a while ago'… Doesn't that mean she stopped?" Faith pointed out. Didn't anyone else think it was strange for these thieves to suddenly volunteer this kind of information? Why were they trying to make Leila look bad? As far as faith could tell they were just bullying her.

"… That's… That's right…" Leila said, clenching her fists tighter, trembling while she kept her head lowered. "It's true I used to do bad things… But once I made a 'friend' I changed… It wasn't an act anymore… I decided to live without telling lies…" The leader of the caravan raised his hand to stop her.

"Leila, we can't trust what you say." He told her with regret.

"…" Sahsa was staring at her friend in shock. Leila raised her head to look at her, but Sahsa turned away, unable to look her in the eyes. Leila's eyes widened in shock.

"If you're going to do that act, do it elsewhere. Never come near us again."

Leila just stood there, watching numbly as the caravan left without her. Faith frowned in disapproval. People were always so quick to believe the worst about someone.

"So she was tricking us into going down route four instead of route three… If we'd done as she said, we would've been caught by thieves."

"Let's use route three!"

"Hey…" Faith called out to Leila as she and Aladdin approached the ex-thief. "They're all going down route three."

"You have to… save your 'friends'…" Aladdin told her.

"… Friends, huh…?" Leila said dejectedly. "I was mistaken. I remember now. When they found out who I was, I would end my act of friendship. It happened so many times. Well, that girl was just another mark." She said carelessly as she got up and brushed herself off. "It's the same as all those other times…"

"…" Faith and Aladdin stared at her.

"Do you really mean that?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes, If I care too much, I can't do my job." Leila replied, stretching her arms out. "Ahh… I guess I'll go back to being a thief."

'What a terrible liar...' Faith thought, unconvinced.

"You'll die." Aladdin said, causing Leila to freeze in her tracks. "Having your friends lose their trust in you just once makes you so sad you want to die… and it's happened to you so many times… You'll die of sadness. Didn't you change? You decided to live… without telling lies_!_!" Leila looked back at them. Her face was flushed with frustration and tears were streaming heavily down her cheeks. Her lip trembled.

"It hurts so much!" She finally admitted out loud. "But it's too late to save them…_!_!" She cried, falling to her knees. "We can't catch with them…!"

"It's okay! Leave it to me!" Aladdin said. "I'll make sure we catch up with them, okay_!_?"

Meanwhile, on route three, the caravan soon found themselves surrounded by a large band of thieves.

"We have some marks, boss!" one of the thieves told their leering leader excitedly.

"What Leila said… was true…" The caravan leader said regretfully with fear in his eyes as he held onto his daughter.

'I'm sorry…! Leila…_!_!' Sahsa thought, trembling with tears in her eyes as the thieves moved in for the kill.

_"Waiiiit!_!_!_" Aladdin yelled.

"Tch, who's that_!_?" asked the leader of the band of thieves, annoyed as he looked up in the direction the interruption had come from.

"I won't let you hurt… this onee-san's precious 'friends'…_!_!_!_" Aladdin declared determinedly as the giant and extremely muscular blue body beneath his small head sprinted towards them with all his might. For a moment, all the thieves could do was stand their frozen in shock as they gaped at the impossible scene before them.

_"HIGYAAAAAAAAAAH!_!" They screamed when it finally sunk in that the strange thing was real and headed straight for them.

_"Wh-What's with that kid…?"_ cried the thieves in alarm, totally freaking out.

_"H-His body is huge… It's disturbing!_!"

"No, look closer. That huge body's coming out of that golden flute!" said the boss.

"Wh-What is that, boss_!_?"

"It's a Djinn… That's a Djinn's flute!" the boss said, breaking out in a nervous sweat. He was right, of course. The blue body was Ugo, with Aladdin riding on his shoulders. Faith was holding onto Aladdin, and Leila was holding onto faith. The girls were holding on for dear life as they trailed out in the wind behind the Djinn's huge body like a human cape. "I'm sure you've at least heard of them. 'Djinns', the spirits that appear in all the legends_!_! Everyone knows the tradition of sealing them in metal objects… B-But I never thought that they were real…_!_!" As he spoke, Ugo was proceeding to put the hurt on his band of thieves following Aladdin's instructions. Just one punch from the Djinn was enough to send ten men flying. And, not one to be left, so was Faith. She had somehow gotten ahold of a stick and was beating the crap out of anyone stupid enough to try to attack her.

"Oh, yeah_!_! Come at me bro_!_!_!_" She shouted excitedly with a wicked grin.

"…_!_!" Leila gasped as she watched in amazement. 'Wooow!' she thought. 'I've never heard of just three people taking out a whole band of thieves… But they might be able to do it…_!_!' Aladdin smiled as he turned to look back at her, but his smile quickly fell when he saw what was happening.

"Aaah!" He cried, flinching in shock. "No, onee-san_!_!_!_ Don't touch Ugo-kun_!_!_!_"

"Eh?" said Leila, taken aback. She looked over and realized she had accidently brushed against the Djinn's foot when he stopped next to her. Ugo suddenly turned bright red, broke out in a nervous sweat and collapsed the ground, stiff as a board, and disappearied in a puff of smoke back into the flute.

"The hell…_!_?" Faith shouted, flinching in shock when he almost landed on top of her.

"Oh, nooooo_!_!" Aladdin cried.

"Why_!_?" Leila yelled incredulously. What the hell just happened?

"Ugo-kun's shy… so if a girl touches him, he faints." Aladdin explained nervously. "Now he can't move_!_!"

"_For real!_?" Faith yelled incredulously. "Ya'll seriously need to get out more, 'cause this is getting ridiculous_!_!"

"Give back Ugo-kun's pure heart_!_!" Aladdin yelled at Leila, hitting her with his small fists.

"H-How is this my fault_!_?" Leila shouted, blushing furiously.

"Ha ha ha. It's over. Die you damn brats!" The boss said wickedly, signaling for his remaining men to attack.

"Shit!" Faith cursed.

"It's not over yet." Said Aladdin. "Ugo-kun's still strong even when he can't move!" With that Aladdin took a deep breath and blew extra hard into Ugo's flute before tossing it up high into the air.

"Ha ha ha. He threw away the flute now that it's of no use to him!" Laughed the boss. Faith noticed that a huge shadow suddenly formed over the group of thieves. Aladdin simply smiled and motioned for them to look up.

"?" The boss said curiously, looking up at the sky above. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw.

"WHAAAAA_!_!" Leila and the caravan members cried out in fear and amazement.

_"Ohhh… Ahhh… Ohhh… AAAAAAAAH!_!_!_" The boss and his thieves screamed, too petrified with fear to move as Ugo's giant body came crashing down on them in a massive body flop.

"Aladdin… That was genius_!_!" Faith praised the boy with a grin, giving him a thumbs up and a pat on the shoulder.

With the band of thieves defeated, Leila shared a very teary reunion with Sahsa and the caravan, and all was forgiven. They then gathered up the thieves loot and finished making their way to the next city, where they helped Aladdin look for more Djinn vessels, while Faith made a quick round to ask if anyone had seen her sister.

"Any luck?" Faith asked upon returning.

"Umm… It's not here…" Aladdin said a little disappointedly. "Did you find your sister?"

"Nope. But I'm sure she's out there somewhere." Faith said with a smile. " She'll be all right. Hope's tough."

The caravan then helped the two of them find a transport wagon so they could continue their search.

"Bye, everyone! It's been a real slice!" Faith called from the cart with a wave.

"See you, onee-san. If you find something with a Djinn living in it, be careful because Djinns can be cowards." Aladdin told Leila.

"Oh?" said Leila.

"Make sure not to scare them with that scary face of yours_!_!_!_" He called pleasantly as the cart started to roll away, smiling brightly while he waved goodbye. Leila responded by throwing a metal oil lamp after them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Previously:**

_The caravan then helped the two of them find a transport wagon so they could continue their search._

_"Bye, everyone! It's been a real slice!" Faith called from the cart with a wave._

_"See you, onee-san. If you find something with a Djinn living in it, be careful because Djinns can be cowards." Aladdin told Leila._

_"Oh?" said Leila._

_"Make sure not to scare them with that scary face of yours!" He called pleasantly as the cart started to roll away, smiling brightly while he waved goodbye. Leila responded by throwing a metal oil lamp after them._

* * *

**Chapter 6: His Name is Alibaba**

* * *

It was a beautiful day, and the sun was shining brightly… which made faith very grateful for the shade of the covering over the top of the cart they were riding in. The sun wasn't always your best friend when you were a natural ginger.

"Wow…! The city is so tiny from here, Ugo-kun, Faith!" Aladdin said excitedly.

"Are you headed to the neighboring city too, young boy and young lady?" asked another one of the passengers, a mother who was traveling with little girl.

"Sure am!" Aladdin replied cheerfully.

"Oh my! Taking such a journey alone?" the woman asked, concerned.

"But we're not alone! See?" Aladdin said proudly, showing her Ugo's flute.

"?" The woman was obviously confused, but smiled politely in response.

THMP.

They all looked over to see that an apple core had been carelessly dropped in the floor of the cart.

"Hey! Quit moving around so much, kid, you're causing the dust to scatter." Said the culprit, an obscenely fat man who was seated amongst a bunch of barrels with a tray of apples and a cup of wine. "Ugh! This place is cramped, and the kids are noisy. Aren't you going to do something about this, driver?" he complained loudly.

'Geez, there's one in every group…' Faith thought, annoyed with his bitching.

"My deepest apologies, sir!" said their driver, a teenaged boy with blonde hair and amber eyes. "Sure my rates are cheap, but I always get the job done. Rest assured, I'll get you and your precious grape wine to the destination safe and sound! Okay?" He finished with a brilliant shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

"Damn straight!" said the fat man. "That wine is worth more than you'd earn in your miserable little life. _Take your paws off my apples!"_ he snapped at Aladdin when the boy reached for one.

"Hey! Those apples are for the boss only!" the driver scolded the kid.

"Let me have one." Said Aladdin.

"Do you have money, kid?"

"Nope, I don't."

"Then no touching." The driver said sternly. "He's got money, so he's also got apples, got it?"

"N-Not fair…" Aladdin cried, visibly wilting with disappointment.

"Just let him have one. Don't be so stingy… Alibobo." Said Faith, already forgetting his name.

"It's _Alibaba_!" He snapped. "And we can talk apples when you've got a cure for your poverty! Right, sir?" Alibaba asked the fat man, sucking up to the money with all his might.

"Hahaha, you sure get it, don'tcha, driver?" said the rich fat man, laughing so obnoxiously hard that it made his chest jiggle. The familiar bouncing motion caught Aladdin's attention.

"I'll get some more apples." Alibaba told the fat man with a pleasant smile. 'Heh… Now this is the type of boss I like!' he thought. 'Danger's at a minimum, payout at the maximum… As long as nothing dangerous happens, I'm going to get paid for sure!' When he turned back around with the basket of fresh apples, Alibaba was so shocked by what he was seeing that his mind completely emptied of all such thoughts. The blue-haired kid that had just been bugging him about the apples was now rubbing his face against the boss's chest fat and fondling it like no there was no tomorrow. Once he got over his initial shock, a vein popped on the boss's head. He looked seriously pissed! Alibaba paled as he dropped the apples.

"Ojii-san? This is really weird…" said Aladdin. "You're a guy, but you have boobs! What's up with that?"

'Yeah, those are some huge bazoongas he's got there!' Faith thought, laughing so hard that her eyes had started to leak tears, and no sound was coming out of her mouth. It was so funny she couldn't breath!

_"Hey, yooooou!_!" Alibaba erupted like a volcano, immediately ripping Aladdin away from the angry boss's huge man-boobs in fear for his paycheck. "I'm so sorry_!_!" He apologized profusely, forcing a very confused Aladdin into a deep bow with him.

"You damned brat!" The boss roared furiously, positively fuming with multiple veins throbbing on his forehead. Aladdin flinched in shock when the man began kicking Alibaba in his anger.

"He didn't mean anything by it, sir! My deepest apologies_!_!" Alibaba said earnestly, doing his best to placate the boss as he took the beating with as much dignity as possible.

Once the boss had finally calmed down, their poor driver stopped for a break at a small oasis to take some time to recover emotionally and water his camels. And the first thing he did was grab the source of all his troubles by the scruff of his neck and pull him aside for a little chat.

_"You damned idiot!_!" a very beaten up and dirty Alibaba shouted angrily at Aladdin with a vein throbbing on his forehead and a dark expression on his face. "Just who do you think that guy there is…? He's the famous and wealthy wine merchant, Budel-sama."

"I don't care who that lard-ass is, he's obnoxious. People like that piss me off." Faith said bluntly, taking a bite out of an apple as she leaned against a palm tree.

"He may be an obnoxious lard-ass, but he's a _rich_ obnoxious lard-ass. And where did you get that apple_!_?" Alibaba demanded.

"… Found it." she replied vaguely, taking another bite. Another vein throbbed on Alibaba's forehead. She better not have 'found' that in his stores!

"Anyway, you need to keep a closer eye on this kid… Where do you get off acting like you were completely uninvolved? I saw you laughing!" he snapped at her.

"I ain't his keeper!" Faith said defensively as she held out the apple for Aladdin to take a bite. "And trust me, you did not want me to get involved. That usually ends with someone winding up in a hospital."

"Hey, driver, just how long is your break gonna go_!_?" shouted the rich obnoxious lard-ass.

"Just a sec!" Alibaba called pleasantly with shit-eating grin before whipping his head back around to glare at Aladdin and Faith. "Whatever, you guys pull a stunt like that again, and I promise to kill you." He threatened them darkly before finally releasing Aladdin and heading back to the cart.

"Hah! I'd like to seem him try." Huffed Faith, tossing the apple core away, before following after him with Aladdin before they got behind.

"Geez, I almost saw my perfect life plan crumble because of that brat…" Alibaba grumbled as they climbed back on the cart.

"Life plan?" Aladdin asked curiously. Faith noticed the caravan that had been at the oasis when they pulled up was getting back on the road.

"I'm planning on being a treasure hunter that goes into dungeons and unearths artifacts." Said Alibaba.

"What's a dungeon…?" asked Aladdin.

"Seriously? You don't know what a 'dungeon' is? You really are just a kid. You don't even understand the worth of money…" Alibaba said jadedly. "Fourteen years ago, huge buildings erupted from the ground all over the place without warning. People went in and were shocked to find treasures from ancient dynasties in them. Eventually people coined the term 'dungeon' for these spots. The treasures within these things are incredible. Diamond crowns, sapphire thrones, golden palaces… even now there are plenty of artifacts we don't know of, specifically the mysterious magical ones! Cloth that flies! Urns that flow with wine! There are guys all around the world looking for artifacts like these! It's all the rage now! And who do you think is the one who's gonna all of those treasures first? That's right, me! Alibaba_!_! I'm gonna be the richest man on the planet_!_!" he declared proudly.

"Oooh… So that's how it is." Aladdin said flatly without any enthusiasm.

'Sounds like the premise for your typical mmorpg…' Faith thought boredly, staring at the ceiling of the cart.

"What do you mean 'that's how it is'?" Alibaba asked, chagrined. "Listen kid, when you have money you can do what you want. A house, a livestock, oh and servants? With money you can have it all. Time to eat, time to sleep, time to play… No worries about work, being able to talk about whatever… With money you'd have love and hope beyond your wildest dreams. Heck! After you get all that, you can even command people to walk where you want them to."

"Oooh." Aladdin said boredly, picking his nose.

"…" faith continued to stare at the ceiling as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"You're not listening to me at all, you jerks…" muttered Alibaba as a vein popped on his forehead. "Fine, if you hear me out… I'll feed you."

"Whoa? Did you say food_!_?" they asked excitedly, immediately perking up.

"Yeah, totally." Alibaba said as they each grabbed an apple, about to continue when Faith began making some remarks that she'd been holding in about his previous comments.

"By the way, only assholes do stuff like that." She deadpanned while munching on her apple. "And take it from someone who knows, love and hope are pretty much the only things you can't buy."

"Okay, no more apples for you!" he retorted shortly. "And What do you mean, 'from someone who knows'? How would someone without any money know about being rich?"

"I used to be rich." She said with a shrug. "I'm just currently cut off from my source of wealth…"

"And then we'll have babes too!" Alibaba told Aladdin, pretending he hadn't heard her.

"Pretty girls_!_!" Aladdin sang excitedly.

"Oi…" said Faith, annoyed that they were both ignoring her.

"Yep, all the girls you could ask for!" said Alibaba. "When you have money, you become a ladies man. All kinds of girls come looking for you. Gentle, supple, strong, big, small… big boobs… Whatever you want, you get it. And they'll be like 'We love Alibaba_!_!'"

"Supple girls_!_! Hehehe… I like that…" Aladdin said with a dreamy expression on his face.

"Right? Right_!_?" Alibaba said excitedly. "And they'll be totally all over us_!_!"

"Ahaha, really? I think I'm blushing_!_!"

"We love you Alibaba! Kiss-kiss-kiss_!_!"

"Kissing?" Aladdin asked, pausing for a moment. "Um… How does that feel exactly? How do you do it?"

"…" Alibaba suddenly stopped short, looking a bit nervous.

"Yeah, how do you do it, Alibaba?" Faith leered with a Cheshire cat grin, enjoying the deer-caught-in-the-headlights-look on his face.

"Um… well… that's… You go in…" Alibaba tried to explained awkwardly, making some really abstract and vague gestures with his hands in an attempt to demonstrate.

"You go in where?" asked Aladdin innocently.

"Pfft! Amateur…" Faith laughed with a knowing smirk. She was clearly looking down on him.

"Wha—_!_?" Alibaba started to yell incredulously when the mother they had been talking with earlier let out a quiet laugh.

"Hee hee, you three are a riot!" She said with a smile. "My daughter loves to hear about dungeons and the treasures found in them."

"Onii-san, are all those things really in dungeons?" The little girl asked curiously.

"He's busy working little one." Her mother told her gently. "Ask later." Alibaba smiled at the heart-warming scene.

"…?" Aladdin titled his head slightly to the side in confusion when he saw an unreadable expression flicker across Faith's face as she watched the mother and daughter. Was it just his imagination or did she look a little… sad?

"It's nothing." she said with a dismissive wave of her hand when she noticed the look on his face. "They just remind me of how my mother and sister used to be together…"

"Oh you poor people and your little dreams!" laughed Buel the fat wine merchant. "'Treasure hunter'? Don't make me laugh." He sneered. "Is there really that much pleasure in in fishing up sand rats in the desert for you? I know you're smarter than that, right driver?"

"… Yeah." Answered Alibaba, lowering his head slightly so that his eyes were hidden by his bangs. Faith frowned.

"Don't waste time with dreams that are out of your reach." Buel blathered on. "Mice should just live as mice rather than wasting their lives searching for garbage… right?"

"…" Alibaba's grip tightened on the reins.

"Right?" Buel repeated, furrowing his brow.

"…" Alibaba's smile tensed for a moment. He opened his mouth. "Oh yeah! Totally right, boss_!_!" he said with the most radiant shit-eating grin that Faith had ever seen in her entire life. "I've got my hands full just being a driver. Sad to say that my potential is only enough to be a mouse, right?" Aladdin and Faith did not miss how much his hands were shaking while holding onto the reins.

'Damn, someone's _pissed_…!' Faith thought, sweat-dropping. Not that she could blame him. If she were in his shoes, she'd have decked that big-mouthed fat-ass already.

Unfortunately, no one was paying attention to the vines creeping up on the cart.

_"!_?" Everyone cried our in alarm when a tendril suddenly wrapped around one of the wheels and pulled hard enough to overturn the whole thing.

"Wh… What's going on_!_?" The mother screamed in fear as they all fell out of the cart and onto the sand.

"Shit_!_! What is that thing_!_?" Faith yelled when she saw the huge flower-like thing that the tendrils belonged to at the bottom of the deep sand pit that they had crashed on the edge of. It reminded her of that thing from Star Wars, you know, the monster in the sand that almost ate Luke in the movie with Leia dressed as a hot slave?

"A desert hyacinth!" Alibaba shouted, turning pale, as it began attacking the caravan too. "It's a meat-eating plant indigenous to the desert! You fall into the hole, and you're lunch! Forget the cart and get out of here!"

"Hey! Grab the wine_!_!" Buel yelled at him.

"Of course, sir_!_!" said Alibaba, starting with the closet barrel. 'As if I'd let my cash cow get eaten_!_!' he thought determinedly.

"!" the little girl with their group cried out when Buel squatted down to pick up a barrel and bumped her just hard enough to send her and a barrel of wine falling into the hyacinth's trap.

"Ah_!_!" Alibaba and Faith gasped when they realized what was happening. Faith and Alibaba both rushed to try to grab her.

"My wine_!_!" Buel shouted, pushing them out of the way to grab the falling barrel. Faith's eyes widened when she felt herself falling.

"_!_!" Alibaba and the mother gasped, staring in horror as Faith and the little girl fell right into the center of the hyacinth with a splash.

"Faith_!_! Oh no, Faith and that little girl are…_!_!" Aladdin cried. He quickly grabbed Ugo's flute and blew. "_!_?" He gasped in shock when nothing happened. "Huh? The flute is full of sand and Ugo-kun won't come out… He's not coming out at all…!" Aladdin exclaimed nervously, starting to panic.

"Oh, thank God it's safe…" said Buel, clutching the barrel as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, you! Start moving now_!_!" he barked at Alibaba.

_'Hey, someone save them!_!' Alibaba yelled in his mind as he stared down into the flower trap, stunned.

"This is our chance to get out of here! The desert hyacinth is eating its prey! Let's go!" shouted Buel.

_'They're going to die…'_

"It won't be long until it's done with those little morsels! So let's run with my wine now!"

"Screw you, fat-ass_!_!_!_" Faith screamed angrily up at the merchant as she resurfaced with the little girl, fighting to keep to stay afloat with all the wriggling tentacles trying to pull and push them down.

_"Someone… Someone, please!_" The little girls mother screamed with tears streaming down her face, fighting with all her might against the men holding her back, going out of her mind with desperation to save her daughter.

_'Someone…!_!' Alibaba screamed in his mind.

"Hey! We've got wine to store!" Buel told him, giving the shell-shocked teen a shove to get him moving. "How about this, if you be a good little driver and work extra hard, I'll double your pay… or wait, I'll triple it. How about it_!_?" Aladdin stared at the man with cold eyes when he heard that. Alibaba was trembling. "Ah! Quit crying, woman!" Buel snapped at the distraught mother. "If that child was worth so much to you… how about you make as many as you'd like with me?"

_WHAM!_

The next thing Buel knew, Alibaba's fist was slamming into the side of his face.

_'Screw waiting for someone else!_!' thought Alibaba while Aladdin and everyone else stared in astonishment. He'd had enough of this crap! "_Take your dirty wine!_!" He yelled, seething with righteous fury. "You can't buy a person's life, ass-face_!_!" Alibaba grabbed a barrel of wine and slid down into the sand trap. "I'm coming to save you guys_!_!" He called to the girls. "Dammit… It's got me_!_! There's no way I can do any better than this! But this isn't the time to think that way_!_!" Alibaba scolded himself, gritting his teeth.

"You little fool_!_! Die! Die! I hope that monster eats you alive_!_!" Buel yelled furiously with multiple veins on his head. "Hey, driver! What are you doing with my wine_!_?"

"Bottoms up_!_!" Alibaba shouted at the deadly flower as he raised the barrel above his head and threw it in. "The part of the desert blossom where the meat is digested can get drunk too! And while the alcohol runs through its system, it returns underground_!_! That's our chance to get out of here_!_!" he said, grabbing Faith's hand to pull her out while she held onto the little girl. Together the three of them scrambled back up the sandy slope, and Faith helped Alibaba lift the frightened little girl up and put her back into her mother's arms.

"You're not in the clear yet, Alibaba_!_!" one of the men shouted in alarm.

"_!_!" Alibaba and faith gasped as more tendrils shot up to grab them.

"Not this shit again_!_?" Faith yelled, cursing in frustration as they tried to break themselves loose.

"That wine wasn't enough_!_!" Alibaba shouted, drawing his blade. "Damn!" He cursed, cutting and slashing at the tendrils. His eyes widened in shock when he glanced over at Faith and saw her use a burst of insane strength to rip one of the thick tendrils in half. 'No way…! cutting it was one thing, but pulling it apart like that by hand should be nearly impossible…_!_!' he thought. Who was this girl_!_? "!" he cried out in pain when one tendril slapped him hard on the back of the head. "Ugh… I can't… die… he…re…" He groaned starting to loose consciousness.

"Hey, keep it together, man_!_!" Faith yelled. "Aladdin! If you're gonna do something, then do it now_!_!" Aladdin didn't need to be told twice. He ripped off his turban.

"Fly, magic turban_!_!" Aladdin shouted, taking off with the rest of the wine barrels. "Don't give up, onii-san!" He called down to Alibaba, who was on the verge of passing out.

"_!_!" Alibaba gasped when he opened his eyes and saw Aladdin floating above them in the sky on his magic turban with all the wine.

"He's flying_!_?_!_?" the others shouted, flinching in shock.

"Hell, yeah! Now that's what I'm talkin' about_!_!" Faith cheered. It was about damn time, too!

"Lying's not good, onii-san!" Aladdin said with a smile. "You still have to tell me more about money, wine, and other things you can't buy!" Alibaba stared up at the young boy in amazement.

"Aaah_!_! Stop that_!_!" Buel yelled. "What are you doing with my grape wine_!_? Stop it, or I'll make sure you regret it_!_! That wine is expensive_!_! It's worth three hundred people, way more than one stupid driver and a mouthy brat_!_! Think real hard about it! Between those brats and my wine… which do you think is worth more…_!_?" The rest of the passengers and the caravan glared hatefully at the greedy merchant.

"You know, my sister would say there's something fundamentally wrong with you as a human being if you have to think about something like that!" snapped Faith with a scowl. "Bombs away, Aladdin!"

"Stop it, I beg you to stop_!_!" Buel cried desperately. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_!_!_!_!" He screamed as Aladdin dropped the entire load into the flower. "GYAAAAAH—Kkh_!_!" tears spurted from his eyes as he choked, keeling over in shock.

"Thank you for saving my daughter…_!_" The mother thanked Alibaba earnestly once he and Faith had safely escaped from the clutches of the hyacinth, which had gone dormant thanks to all the wine Aladdin dumped in it.

"You even saved our caravan…" said its leader. "We'll be glad to pay the compensation for that grape wine…!" For a moment, Alibaba was really tempted, but…

"Thanks, but seriously it's fine." He told them with a smile. "I've decided that smacking that old bat was worth way more than the money… I'll just work hard to replace it myself." Despite the brave face he had put on for them, Alibaba was seriously worried about his future now, and he drooped visibly as he turned away from them.

"Wow, that was really big of you." Faith praised him. "Good luck working off such a huge debt!"

"You could at least offer to pay for part of it yourself_!_!" He snapped, bristling like an alley cat. After all, half of that wine had gone towards saving her, too! "What have you two been up to this whole time, anyway?" For some reason Faith and Aladdin had been fiddling around with a flute the whole time the others were thanking him.

"We're having some technical difficulties." Replied Faith.

"Hmm… He won't come out…" Aladdin said disappointed.

"What?" Alibaba asked.

"Ah! There we go!" Aladdin said, perking up when he finally managed to blow the sand that had been blocking up the flute clear. "Come on out, Ugo-kun!" And out he came. Ugo's giant blue arms shot out of the flute right on cue.

"There you are, Ugo! We missed you." Faith said with a grin as Alibaba and everyone else stared in shock, frozen in place like statues with their eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"GYAAHHHHH_!_!" They all screamed in terror.

"Ahahahah_!_!" Faith laughed. That one never gets old!

"?" Aladdin said, the very picture of innocence as he wondered why everyone was so freaked out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Previously:**

"Ah! There we go!" Aladdin said, perking up when he finally managed to blow the sand that had been blocking up the flute clear. "Come on out, Ugo-kun!" And out he came. Ugo's giant blue arms shot out of the flute right on cue.

"There you are, Ugo! We missed you." Faith said with a grin as Alibaba and everyone else stared in shock, frozen in place like statues with their eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"GYAAHHHHH_!_!" They all screamed in terror.

"Ahahahah_!_!" Faith laughed. That one never gets old!

"?" Aladdin said, the very picture of innocence as he wondered why everyone was so freaked out.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Faith and Aladdin and Alibaba**

* * *

"Wahhh_!_! Is that a snake_!_?" Alibaba heard someone cry while everyone (aside from him and Aladdin and Faith) ran around in a panic like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off.

'That ain't no snake…' he thought, staring at the giant blue arms. 'But wait, could that be… the legendary Djinn container…_!_?'

Eventually everyone calmed down by the time the sun had started to set, when they realized they weren't in any immediate danger, and they all split up back into their respective groups to continue their journey, which was much more peaceful with Buel still out cold from the shock of losing all his wine.

'To have a chance encounter like this is next to impossible…_!_!' thought Alibaba determinedly as he drove. 'This is perfect for my plans… but first I gotta get that kid to believe that I'm his buddy_!_!'

Alibaba figured the best way to do this was to win the hearts of Aladdin and Faith through their stomachs, so he volunteered to show them around once they reached the oasis city of Qishan and treated them to some snacks from the street vendors.

"Onii-san, it's great that you came with us! It's a huge help!" Aladdin said cheerfully.

"Yeah, that was awfully nice of you." Faith said, wondering why he was splurging on them, given what a tightwad he had been where money was concerned even before incurring the huge debt that was now lingering over his head.

"Of course I'd come~!" Alibaba said brightly. "I mean, you saved my life back there and even helped out against a common enemy! That makes us pals! Right, Aladdin?"

'I'd know that look anywhere. He's definitely scheming something…' Faith thought, unimpressed. She saw it all the time with people who wanted to borrow money off of her and her sister because their dad was rich. 'Uh-oh…' she thought, sweat-dropping, when she noticed the look of innocent joy on Aladdin's face upon finding someone new to call a 'friend'.

"Yeah!" the poor naïve little thing answered happily.

Since they were 'friends' Alibaba offered to let them stay at his place for awhile.

"Wow~!" Aladdin said excitedly as he entered his new friend's home. "You know, you're the first friend I've ever had." He told Alibaba, blushing with happiness.

"Is that so?" asked Alibaba with a smile.

'Hey, what about me and Ugo-kun?' Faith thought, raising an eyebrow.

"Just have a seat, buddy!" said Alibaba. "I'll get us some tea."

"Thanks!" said Aladdin, doing just that.

"I just bought some apples, wanna cut them up and eat 'em?"

"Yay! They look real tasty…_!_!"

"Shall I do the honors?" offered Faith. Alibaba handed her knife and watched as she chopped the apples up with frightening speed. "Here you go!" She said with a brilliant shit-eating grin, abruptly thrusting the knife back in his face with a piece of apple on the end.

"Ah, thanks…" Alibaba said, sweat-dropping, as he carefully taking the knife back. This girl made him nervous, and not in the usual way…

"Want a bite, Ugo-kun?" Aladdin asked the Djinn in the flute, offering him a piece of apple, while Alibaba finished serving the tea.

"By the way, there's something I wanna ask you buddy!" Alibaba said pleasantly.

"What's that?" asked Aladdin.

"What's the deal with the flute?" Alibaba asked seriously, putting on his game face.

'Ah, there it is…' Faith thought. Well, that didn't take very long for him to reveal his intentions.

"T…This?" Aladdin asked, a bit taken aback. "It's just a normal flute…"

"I'm talking about what's in it!" said Alibaba. "Flutes don't usually sprout arms_!_!"

"O…Oh! You mean Ugo-kun!" said Aladdin. "He's my friend too! Though you and Faith, and others seem to call him a 'Djinn' or something…"

'Score!' thought Alibaba.

'It's so obvious what he's thinking…' Faith thought, sweat-dropping.

"W… Where'd you find him? Oh, I bet it was a dungeon, right?" Alibaba asked, trying to sound casual.

"Du… Dungeon?" asked Aladdin.

"I just explained this yesterday!" Alibaba reminded him. 'Dungeons' are mysterious places where all kinds of secret treasures are sleeping! More specifically, there are some treasures with mysterious powers! They're from different countries like Reim and Partevia! People from these countries are looking to get them back too. The biggest treasure of them all is… the Metal Vessel, the Djinn container."

"That! That's it!" exclaimed Aladdin excitedly.

"What?"

"I'm looking for the 'Metal Vessel', that's why I came here!"

"Huh? But… you… well, already have it." Alibaba pointed out, looking a bit confused.

"Apparently he wants more." Said Faith with a shrug.

"No, this is different." Aladdin said, shaking his head. "I didn't find this in a dungeon, but a room I was in. When I left, this is what I received."

"Room?" Alibaba and Faith asked.

"Yeah, Ugo-kun and I used to reside in a room together… a sturdy room located underground." Aladdin explained. "For a long time I wasn't able to leave, but after some time I was able to escape. But Ugo-kun's head wasn't so lucky…"

"…?" Alibaba said, staring at the young boy with a puzzled expression on his face, not quite sure he understood. Just how was he supposed to react to something like that. This was not normal…!

"…" Faith stared at Aladdin for a moment before reaching out and patting him on the head. "Wow, you sure are different… Not that that's a bad thing." She remarked with a small smile.

"?" Aladdin tilted his head to the side in confusion for a moment before continuing. "Hey, do you think if we went to that dungeon we'd find a Metal Vessel_!_?" he asked earnestly.

"It sure sounds like it!" said Faith.

"I… I…" stuttered Alibaba, suddenly looking unnerved. He had been really thrown by Aladdin's story.

"Okay, then!" Said Aladdin, jumping to his feet. "You can lead me there!"

"And me! I'm coming too!" Faith chimed in. No way was she missing out on such a great adventure.

'What? Just what the hell are they talking about_!_?' Alibaba thought sweating nervously. Didn't they know how dangerous dungeons were_!_?

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Alibaba_!_!" someone yelled through the door.

"Crap! It's the boss!" said Alibaba, scrambling to his feet.

"Boss?" asked Aladdin curiously.

"He's the guy who owns the cart that I use for work…" Alibaba explained as he moved to answer the door.

"Ah…" Aladdin and Faith said, nodding in understanding.

"Alibaba, why would you do such a thing_!_?" his boss asked anxiously when he opened the door. "Budel-sama's wine was completely wasted, wasn't it? He said in order to compensate for this, we owe him 1,000 dinal!"

"Oh, yeah. I was gonna come and talk to you about that later… hehe…" Alibaba laughed a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"This is no laugh matter!" His boss said urgently. "They're talking about making you a slave!"

"S… Slave_!_?" Alibaba shouted, alarmed.

'Damn, so they have slaves here…?' Faith thought with a frown.

"The man that drinks the grape wine Budel delivers is a lord with a fairly bad reputation… He takes delight in making other people his slaves, and causing them endless misery… and now you've gone and made him angry…_!_! What am I to do…_!_?" Alibaba's boss cried, sinking to his knees in despair.

'Wow, seems like the situation has gotten pretty serious…' Faith thought as she stood there watching with Aladdin.

"… Don't even sweat it, boss. I'm not gonna be that guy's slave." Alibaba said after taking a moment to consider his options, holding out a hand to help the older man up. "I'm gonna go dungeon diving, and pay that guy's compensation back!"

"Huh?" his boss exclaimed, flinching in shock. He was gonna wha_t!_?

"Hey, Aladdin and Faith, you guys still up for some dungeon diving?" Alibaba asked.

"Y-Yeah…" said Aladdin.

"Hell-to-the-yes!" said Faith.

"I'll take you then!" Alibaba said determinedly. "The only thing I'll ask for in return, is that you let my boss see your Djinn!"

"… Kay!" Aladdin agreed with a smile.

"…_!_?" the boss said, looking nervous and confused as Aladdin blew into the flute. Out came Ugo's entire massive body, so huge that it crashed through the roof off Alibaba's house. "…_!_?" the boss cried out in alarm as he fell back, staring up at the blue giant with a flute for a head in astonishment and fear.

"Boss, this is my bud, Aladdin… He's one badass magician_!_!" Alibaba declared boldly. "And my number one…" Aladdin smiled excitedly in anticipation of being introduced as someone's friend for the first time. "… Servant_!_!" Alibaba finished, much to the poor kid's shock.

"…" Faith deadpanned, regarding Alibaba with an extremely unimpressed look on her face. 'This little jerk-wipe…' she thought, kinda pissed off on Aladdin's behalf.

"Hahaha, boss sure was surprised!" Alibaba laughed as they left his house. "But since he's been looking after me all of this time, I won't let anything bad happen! Now let's hurry up and get the preparations for our dungeon dive in order! We'll need some food, some maps, and brand new knives… Man! Just thinking about going on an adventure makes the heart soar, doesn't it, guys?" Alibaba finally stopped and looked back, and realized that Aladdin and Faith were being strangely quiet and maintaining a sort of awkward distance from him. Aladdin looked strangely disheartened. "What's up Aladdin?" Alibaba asked, walking over to see what was wrong. Aladdin said nothing and promptly turned his back on him. "…?" Alibaba said, confused when the kid and Faith started walking away. "Are you mad at me?" he asked, following after them.

"Not really." Aladdin answered quietly while Faith remained stubbornly silent.

"Why are you acting weird?" Alibaba persisted. "Don't you want to go dungeon diving? Does your stomach hurt?" Aladdin shook his head and kept walking. "Hey, what's up with him?" Alibaba whispered to Faith.

"Figure it our on your own." She retorted bluntly without mercy.

"…" Alibaba sweat-dropped. What was her problem…? "Oh, wait! I get it!" he said suddenly, causing Aladdin to stop short. "You're worried about your cut of the reward, huh!" Alibaba said brightly. Faith deadpanned, and she and Aladdin started walking again. "That is important." Alibaba continued. "There's no need to get mad about it, though…"

"…" Aladdin and Faith remained stubbornly silent.

"No worries, guys. There'll be a mountain full of treasure. So you can have your Metal Vessel… and I'll just take whatever's left. How's that? Cool, huh? So don't be mad." Alibaba said, patting Aladdin on the shoulder. Aladdin stopped.

_"I said I'm not mad."_ He stated moodily without even looking at him, gripping the sides of his pants tightly in his little fists.

'You're totally mad…' Alibaba thought, backing off a bit warily. 'Ugh, I don't want to deal with an annoying brat or this stuck up bitch…' he thought with veins throbbing on his head, kinda pissed off at the way Faith kept staring at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world. 'But if he says 'I don't want to go anymore', that'll be a problem… I know I made it look like no big deal to Boss, but there's nothing easy about dungeon diving… Dungeons are places where an army goes in, and in the best case scenario, one guy comes out… Getting new supplies is one thing, but I need his magical powers to seal the deal! I've gotta do something_!_!' he thought anxiously, biting his thumb. 'Think… Think Alibaba_!_! What will get this kid interested again…_!_?'

In the end he decided to try bringing the kid to a pleasure house, because he knew that was his best bet at getting everything he would need to get back in Aladdin's good graces: food to die for, and pretty women! Alibaba hadn't forgotten how much the kid had lit up when they started talking about food and women the previous day.

'I'll put you in a good mood, just you watch!' he thought determinedly. He was sure his plan would work, until he looked over and saw that Aladdin was still sulking with his face buried in the couch they had been shown to while they waited for the women to come. The kid refused to even look at the food. "…" Alibaba was speechless. 'Dude, this is what you wanted, right_!_? Why are you being so stubborn_!_?' he thought with a vein throbbing on his forehead. 'This is the first time I've been to a place like this, and let's not even get started on how much all of this is costing me! Not to mention…' He cast an annoyed glance at Faith, who had made herself right at home on the couch opposite them. "What are you doing in here_!_? Don't you know what this place is_!_?" He demanded. Why did he end up having to pay for her too_!_?

"Of course!" she said with a Cheshire cat grin, popping a grape into her mouth. "What, you think just because I'm a girl, I can't appreciate a nice rack? Bring on the babes! I'll have you know that I'm a connoisseur!"

'Wait, so she likes other girls…? I can't even begin to understand this chick...' Alibaba thought, chagrined. "And, you," he said, turning back to the sulking Aladdin, "quit being annoying… if you've got a problem, just say it."

"… Well, I'm just your… servant, right…?" Aladdin sniffed, trembling as he cried into the cushion.

"What?" Alibaba said, sweat-dropping. That's what this tantrum was about? "I just said that to look big in front of the boss. I can't believe you're getting bent out of shape over a few words… Geez… Fine! Fine!" he said with a sigh. "You're my partner, my buddy… my friend. Aladdin's ear twitched upon hearing that last word, and he immediately perked up, turning to face Alibaba with joy on his face and tears in his eyes.

"Your friend…?" Aladdin asked hopefully with sparkling eyes.

'Huh?' Alibaba thought, a bit taken aback by sudden complete turn-around.

"Really? We're really friends?" Aladdin asked excitedly, grabbing his hands.

"… Yeah." Alibaba answered a bit awkwardly. 'You're one weird kid…'

"Aw, look at that, we're all friends again… Now let's play, Aladdin!" Faith said with a grin. "The girls are here!"

"Yay! Girls!" Aladdin cheered.

'I don't really get what's going on here, but it looks like I'm out of the woods! Now we can get ready for the adventure_!_! Just gotta get the supplies, and then we ship out_!_!' thought Alibaba with a grin. 'And soon, I'll be seeing a dungeon… I'm so excited I could just explode…! Soon I'll be there… If I could I'd do it right now…! To put my life on the line…! To bet against life itself and come out the winner…!' A bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he smirked, clenching his fists. 'It looks like I've repaired our partnership too. But man, is he really just a kid? Why does he have such manly interests then…? And that girl's a natural…! Why is she so popular with girls when she's a girl herself…_!_?' he wondered, sweat-dropping, as he watched Aladdin burry his face between a beautiful woman's breasts, while most of the women he had ordered flocked to Faith, waiting on her hand and foot as if she were a queen. 'It wouldn't kill me to have some fun, would it…?' he thought, blushing. 'Yeah, I want to have some fun_!_!' he decided, getting pumped.

"Sorry to keep you waiting…" a very soft and feminine voice called out to him.

'She's here!' Alibaba thought excitedly, whipping his head around to see what his girl looked like. Contrary to the sound of her voice, the woman was extremely tall with a muscular build and an extremely 'unique' face. Alibaba was stunned speechless.

"My name is Elizabeth." The beefy woman introduced herself with that misleadingly silky voice. Alibaba just stared, not sure how to react. "Since you paid so much, sir, they decided to send me to you; the most beautiful and competent of all our hostesses. Pleased to meet you." She explained, as she seated herself beside him on the couch. She picked up a wine jug, sliced the top off with one swift strike of her bare hand, and poured him a drink. Alibaba paled. His hand shook nervously while he tried to sip his wine. He was way to scared of this woman to reject her now.

"And now what you've all been waiting for! It's service time!" announced the owner. "Everyone, take your time and enjoy yourselves on us~!"

"This is place is soooo much fun_!_!" Aladdin cheered.

"Haha, you said it~!" Faith agreed with a smirk as her beautiful hostesses moved into position to give her a lap dance.

"I love it~" Aladdin sang blissfully, rubbing his face repeatedly against pretty his hostess' boobs. "Loooooooooove it~_!_!"

Neither of them paid any attention to what was happening to poor Alibaba as Elizabeth moved in for the kill.

"I had so much fun!" said Aladdin when they left once they were done partying.

"Yeah! I've never actually been to a place like that before, but I'm beginning to see the attraction!" said Faith. It was like she had her own harem in there!

"Say, when our adventure ends… do you think we can come back here, onii-san…" Aladdin asked excitedly as he turned back to face Alibaba, trailing off when he saw the state the older boy was in. He looked like he had just been through a war. His clothes were ripped, and he had lipstick smears all over his and chest. Elizabeth had ravaged him to within an inch of his life.

"… Pfft_!_!" Faith laughed, unable to help herself.

"!" Alibaba flinched.

"The power of friendship_!_!" Aladdin cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

_"_Whaaaat? _The power of friendship my ass!_!" Alibaba snapped incredulously with a vein throbbing on his forehead as he gave the kid a good whack on the head.

"Don't you hit him_!_!" Faith yelled, kicking Alibaba in the shin.

In the meantime, while Faith had been busy playing around with Aladdin and Alibaba, away further east her sister Hope was dealing a few issues of her own. Hope had been really anxious and worried about what would happen to her at first, but fortunately, Kouen was treating her fairly well, considering the fact that he was keeping her captive. She had been given a sparsely furnished (but private) tent, and they fed her three square meals a day. When he wasn't questioning her, she was allowed to research their world, but she often needed help reading the materials they provided her with since the written form of their language was completely different from its spoken form, which sounded like English. Sometimes Kouen himself would read them to her, when he wasn't busy running his army. At the moment, Hope was scribbling away in her dimly lit tent, doing her best to calculate the trajectory of Faith's fall in order to figure out where she might have landed based on her the path of her own fall.

"Aghh…!" she let out a sigh of frustration as she let her head hit the desk with a marvelous thumping sound, which Kouen arrived just in time to witness.

"… What are you doing?" he asked, entering without bothering to ask permission, as usual.

"Mmn. I'm trying to figure out where my sister might have landed… but there's too many unknown variables…" Hope groaned, massaging her sore head. "I know we entered the atmosphere somewhere around here, because of the view I saw of the continent as we were falling..." she said, making an 'x' on the map between the plateau and the desert. "And I landed here…" she circled the dot that had already been added to mark where they found her and Ipos' dungeon. "So, assuming she didn't encounter any particularly strong wind currents, and we fell at the same speed and velocity… I've estimated that she probably landed somewhere around here." She concluded, circling the area of the desert just outside the oasis city of Utan.

"… So what's the problem?" Kouen asked, eyeing all of the complex physics equations she had scratched out on the sheets of paper splayed out beside the map with interest.

"The problem is, this relies on the reasoning that when we were pulled apart, we flew away from each other in a straight line… but as we were spinning in a sort of spiral when we were falling, so I can't know the exact angle of her trajectory, which means she could be anywhere in here…" Hope explained with a frown, outlining an area that would include hundreds of more miles. "And taking into account Faith's personality… I bet she's already started wandering around looking for me at random, so wherever she was, she isn't there anymore." She finished with a sigh, leaning back in her chair. Hope saw the way he was staring at her work and straightened up. "So, what did you come to talk about?" She asked, putting on her best business face. "Are you still unconvinced that the King Solomon from my world is different from the King Solomon that you're interested in?"

"No, though there are some uncanny parallels, it is obvious now that your two worlds are very different. And the key variant is… the lack of magic in yours." He replied, setting her iPhone down in front of her. "The magicians that I had examine this have all agreed with your statement that this is not a magic tool, but something far beyond their understanding… Since it appears to have stopped working, I will return it to you."

"Yeah… I'm not surprised." Hope said with a frown when it wouldn't turn on. "The battery's dead."

"Battery?"

"A container of one or more cells in which chemical energy is converted into electricity and a source of power. This battery can't hold a permanent charge, so it has to be recharged via another source of electricity, or it'll stop working, like this." She explained, tapping her phone. "I'm not surprised they couldn't understand how it worked. To someone who isn't used to this level of technology, I imagine it would seem like magic, but this machine is a product of centuries worth of scientific knowledge and advancement. Aside from the magic tools, I'd estimate from what I've seen so far that this world is at least 800 years behind the one I came from technology-wise."

"You seem to have a decent understanding of the way your own technology works… could you get it working again?"

"Well, I could with an electric generator, but I only know how to make one theoretically from what we learned about electricity in science class, but I'm not an engineer. I'm only in the last quarter of my senior year of high school."

"…" Kouen regarded her coolly for a moment. "In other words, you _can_ do it. You just don't want to try."

"That's right. This isn't my world. I don't feel comfortable with the idea of contaminating it with outside technology that it might not be ready for yet." She answered seriously. "I've read too many stories about how doing that can end in a terrible disaster to want to take that risk."

"That was fiction." Said Kouen, furrowing his brow.

"I used to think that about alternate worlds and magic, but here we are." She retorted with a frown. For a while they just stood there staring each other down, until Hope finally looked a way with a sigh.

"… You look tired." Kouen remarked.

"I am." Hope replied honestly, grabbing one of her plastic orange medicine bottles. "I'm tired and stressed. Being held captive and constantly questioned while your sister is God only knows where, getting into God only knows what kind of trouble, will do that to you."

"If your sister is anything like you, I doubt you have need to worry." Said Kouen, watching as she popped a small orange pill into her mouth.

"Thanks." Hope said with a wry smile once she had finished swallowing her medicine. Was he trying to comfort her? "But it's not just her I'm worried about… It's the people around her. Faith can be really reckless sometimes…" she had a bad feeling just thinking of all the mayhem her sister could cause if she got her hands on some of the magical items she'd heard about… Faith was dangerous already enough without help.

"What kind of medicine did you just take?"

Hope blinked, a little surprised by the sudden change in topic.

"It's a pill to help me sleep." She replied. "I've been battling insomnia ever since I was eight. It doesn't start working until about an hour after you take it… but once it does kick in, it knocks me out so hard that I could sleep through a hurricane!"

"And you feel safe enough to take that here?" asked Kouen. Didn't she realize how vulnerable that would leave her?

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" Hope asked, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion. "It's not like I've given you a reason to hurt me…?" She was surprised when he reached out and carefully brushed a stray hair away from her face.

"Hmph." He smirked, leaning in closer. "For someone so intelligent, you're very naïve, aren't you?" the prince whispered in her ear, making her blush.

"W-W-What's that supposed to mean…_!_?" she asked, clamping a hand over her ear as she shot across to the other side of the room in an attempt to put a safer distance between them. She could feel her cheeks and ears burning. Kouen simply continued to smirk as he turned to leave.

"It means… you should be more careful…"

Once he was gone, Hope released a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding.

'Uwah… That guy's really bad for the heart…!' She thought as a bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of her cheek, chagrined. 'Why does he have to get such a kick out of messing with me…?'


	8. Chapter 8

**Previously:**

_"Hmph." He smirked, leaning in closer. "For someone so intelligent, you're very naïve, aren't you?" the prince whispered in her ear, making her blush._

_"W-W-What's that supposed to mean…!?" she asked, clamping a hand over her ear as she shot across to the other side of the room in an attempt to put a safer distance between them. She could feel her cheeks and ears burning. Kouen simply continued to smirk as he turned to leave._

_"It means… you should be more careful…"_

_Once he was gone, Hope released a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding._

_'Uwah… That guy's really bad for the heart…!' She thought as a bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of her cheek, chagrined. 'Why does he have to get such a kick out of messing with me…?'_

* * *

**Chapter 8: Dungeon Diving**

* * *

"W-Wait!" Hope called out, stopping him. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you… How much do you know about the Djinns and about King Solomon's world?"

"… You want to know more about the world of King Solomon?" said Kouen as he turned back around to face her, a bit surprised. Her sole focus so far when it came to gathering knowledge had been on the workings of this world's natural laws, geography, and the political climate... This was her first time asking about something that wasn't directly related to what she thought she needed to find her sister.

"Yes. The other day, it occurred to me that the Djinn in that dungeon, Ipos, had talked like he knew about it from firsthand experience, which means he must have been there at some point… So the question is, how did the Djinns come to be in this world? The sensation I felt passing through that portal at the dungeon's entrance felt just like whatever brought me and my sister here, so if I can figure out how the Djinns were able to get from one world to another, then maybe I can figure out how we can return to ours!" she explained excitedly. Kouen was intrigued. But he wasn't about to give such prized information away for nothing.

"And what will you give me in return?"

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

"I want to know what the medicine you take in the morning is for." Kouen watched as her smile fell, and she immediately shut down, adopting an unreadable expression.

"I don't want to talk about that. It's too personal." She said stiffly, clenching her fists. "You don't need to worry. It's nothing contagious, so you and your men aren't in any danger."

"I thought you wanted to know about Solomon's world."

"I do. Please, tell me." She said anxiously. "I need to know."

"Not until you tell me what _I_ want to know." Kouen stated firmly, refusing to budge.

"I can't—and I can't stay here!" she said louder, starting to get agitated.

"Why not?"

_"Because I'll die!"_ Hope snapped. Kouen stared at her in astonishment as her eyes widened the moment she realized the words had left her mouth.

"… What do you mean by that?" he asked, furrowing his brow as he narrowed his eyes slightly. Hope averted her eyes for a moment and bit her lip, looking extremely troubled. Kouen waited patiently for her to answer.

"I… It has to do with the medicine I take in the morning…" she said after a long silence, deciding she might as well tell him now that she had let the cat out of the bag.

"Is it a terminal illness?" he asked with a frown.

"In a manner of speaking…" she replied, shifting nervously as she took a seat. "It's an illness that can never be completely cured. The best my doctors can do is help me treat the symptoms." Squeezed her hands tightly until her knuckles were white and raised her head to meet his eyes. "It's a mental illness, but I'm not crazy. What I have is condition called 'bipolar disorder'. Bipolar disorder, which is also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. The symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They're different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through from time to time. Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even… even suicide…" Hope's hands started trembling, and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. "But like I said, bipolar disorder can be treated, and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives. And that's what I've been trying to do. The medicines I take help keep me stable, but without them…" she looked down again and blinked, trying to stop the tears that had begun to form in her eyes, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop the tears, and she couldn't stop talking. The levee had broken, and now she had been holding back everything came gushing out. "Without them… it eventually becomes so painful, both mentally and physically, that I can't stop… I can't stop having suicidal thoughts. And I'm terrified that I'll give in… Because our mother had it too, and she…" Kouen watched as hot tears of fear, frustration and pain streamed down her flushed cheeks. "I just don't want to end up like her…! I don't want Faith to have to go through that again—especially not alone_!_! Not when we have the same face! I—"

"That's enough." Kouen said in a quiet but firm voice. Hope sniffed and did her best to wipe away her tears as he approached her. Her face was hot and red. She felt embarrassed for breaking down in front of someone she barely knew like that.

"I'm sorry…" she apologized nervously, wondering what he must think of her now. But Kouen's opinion of her had not lessened.

"Don't apologize." He told her. "How long do you have?"

"I only have about three weeks' worth left in the bottle… but I think I can hold on for year longer if I have to…" she said, taking a few minutes to think it over. That was how long she had been able to withstand it before finally deciding to get help because she had become too much of a danger to herself, back when her symptoms first started to appear. "… I won't kill myself. I won't, because I made a promise to Faith... And to myself." she reminded herself firmly. "So... I'm sorry for panicking like that…"

"I told you not to apologize." Kouen reminded her. "But very well, a deal is a deal. I'll share what I know about the world of King Solomon with you."

Hope listened carefully while he told her of the information he had gleaned by studying artifacts found in the dungeons and remnants from the Torran nation. He explained his theories on his findings and the different ways that they could be interpreted, and sometimes she would chime in with theories of her own about parallel universes, alternate dimensions, and how she thought some of the things he described could be explained scientifically. They both became so involved in the discussion that before they knew it, an hour had passed, and Hope had fallen asleep. Upon realizing this, Kouen decided to pick her up and put her to bed. As he lay her down and brushed away stray lock of ginger hair, his hand lingered upon her soft face, and he found that he didn't want Hope to leave… He wanted to keep her.

"History states that the first reported sighting was fourteen years ago. Suddenly, they appeared from the depths of the ocean a huge and mysterious building. This would be the very first 'dungeon'! The strange edifice appeared heralding in an unknown culture and never before seen architecture. The mystery couldn't be destroyed… and there was only one entrance into it. From that entrance, a mysterious light beckoned the outdoors. Many people feared this tower, but within the masses there were some who took delight in the dungeon. And they were the scientists! Before long, there was a line of researchers who wanted to investigate the phenomenon, their numbers easily in the thousands. Eventually, emperors and soldiers alike couldn't restrain their curiosity, and threw their greatest talents into the excavation. The expectations of the people were rising_!_! However… two thousand researchers and a myriad of soldiers all met their end during their explorations… Not a single person returned alive to tell the tale of the dungeon_!_! Before long, people had started calling it the 'hole of death'… Just as people were giving up hope, and there didn't seem to be a person willing to stand up to this mystery… something happened. The door to the dungeon opened… and something appeared… radiant treasures being carried by a blue giant_!_! Leading the way was a young man_!_! And that's the story of how one guy managed to clear the first dungeon." Alibaba explained proudly while he, Faith, and Aladdin were getting ready the next morning. "And guess what, that boy went on to become king! Isn't that awesome? He's totally my hero_!_!"

"So, we're going to that first dungeon, then?" asked Aladdin as they stepped outside into the morning light to start their journey.

"Uh, wouldn't it be been cleaned out after fourteen years…?" said Faith dubiously.

"No, well, the three of us are going to a different dungeon." Replied Alibaba. "Different?"

"Yep. Apparently, when a dungeon has been completely cleared out by someone, it disappears." Alibaba explained. "So that first dungeon is completely gone… There's not even a sign of it ever having existed. But since then several other dungeons have popped up all around the world… so there's still plenty out there to see!"

"Ooh…" said Aladdin. "That's good! Since there are so many, there's gotta be one that hasn't been cleared!"

"Sounds like we'll have our pick of the litter." Faith agreed.

"That's good, but it's not at the same time." Said Alibaba seriously. "By the way, we're going to one of the dungeons that appeared ten years ago.. but do you really understand what that means?"

"Nope, but I'm sure you'll tell us anyway." She retorted.

"The fact that this dungeon is still around… put another way, means… It's a place that no one has been able to successfully clear. So in ten years, anyone who's gone into that place has either never returned or did so in a casket! It's no laughing matter!" Alibaba said urgently.

"Ha! I laugh in the face of danger! Bwahahaha!" Faith declared boldly, completely unfazed.

"We're talking life an death here…" Aladdin said nervously, suddenly looking very pale and anxious.

"You scared?" Alibaba asked him.

"N-No, I'm going!" said Aladdin.

"For real?" asked Faith.

"It's a dangerous journey!" said Alibaba.

"I don't care!" shouted Aladdin determinedly despite how nervous he looked.

"An adventure of hardship!" yelled Alibaba.

"That doesn't bother me! There's no mountain high enough and no river low enough to discourage me_!_!" yelled Aladdin.

"I feel a song coming on!" shouted Faith.

"Alrighty! Let's go_!_!" said Alibaba fiercely. He took one more step forward before stopping and spreading his arms out. "We're here_!_!" he announced abruptly.

_"Whaa?"_ Aladdin shouted, flinching in shock.

"…" Faith stared up at it in surprise. She and Aladdin did a quick double take between their current location and their starting point. It was literally only ten steps away from Alibaba's house!

"It's so close…_!_!" Aladdin exclaimed.

"I never said it was far." Alibaba replied calmly.

"You troll…_!_!" Faith shouted accusingly as she pointed a finger at Alibaba. He got them all worked up for nothing! Not only was it super closer, but aside from the glowing entrance, it reminded her of a friggin' bank. She had been expecting something a lot taller, and a heck of a lot more impressive…

"So, this is the stairway to death, huh…" Alibaba said as he stared at the dungeon with them, trying to look cool.

"… To death?" Aladdin asked.

"Yeah, they say that in ten years nearly one hundred thousand people have climbed these stairs and ended up in the afterlife." Alibaba explained. "Heh, stairs that you walk up and basically never walk down from then, huh? Well, we'll be okay, though!" he said with a laugh. But then, when he stopped to think about it… a bead of nervous sweat slid down the side of his face. '… Right? I will be okay… right? Whoa… Am I sure that everything will be okay…?' Alibaba wondered, suddenly feeling very uneasy. He glanced back at Aladdin and Faith. 'Right, this guy has his mysterious friend with him… and that girl is freakishly strong… It's because I didn't have an ace in the hole that I always decided against going dungeon diving… but then I saw this kid do the impossible right before my eyes… And for a minute, I thought to myself that I could do this… But… am I really going to be okay…?' Aladdin and Faith noticed the way Alibaba was staring at them and how nervous he suddenly looked, and exchanged a glance. Then they both smiled and shot Alibaba a couple of big troll-faced grins.

"!" Alibaba flinched in surprise. "What was that for_!_?" he demanded as they ran past him, heading straight for the stairs of death.

"C'mon! You can't chicken out on us now!" Faith teased with a grin.

"W-Who are you calling chicken…_!_?"

"Don't be scared, Alibaba-kun!" said Aladdin. "Things will work out! This isn't the stairway to death… but the path to your dreams!" Alibaba stared up at the younger boy in amazement. And then, he smiled, and raced up the stairs to join them.

"Hell, yeah! Let's go!" he shouted excitedly, taking charge as he passed them up… And then promptly turned around and led them back down.

"Why'd you go back_!_?" Aladdin and Faith shouted incredulously.

"I didn't say we'd be going now!" retorted Alibaba.

"Well, why not?" asked Faith. "I mean, we're already here."

"Don't be stupid!" Alibaba told her, earning himself a short but very scary glare. "I-I mean, for dungeon diving, being prepared is everything! First let's go and buy some supplies!"

"Aww…" Aladdin said, a little disappointed they weren't going right away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Previously:**

_"Why'd you go back!?" Aladdin and Faith shouted incredulously._

_"I didn't say we'd be going now!" retorted Alibaba._

_"Well, why not?" asked Faith. "I mean, we're already here."_

_"Don't be stupid!" Alibaba told her, earning himself a short but very scary glare. "I-I mean, for dungeon diving, being prepared is everything! First let's go and buy some supplies!"_

_"Aww…" Aladdin said, a little disappointed they weren't going right away._

* * *

**Chapter 9: Adventure**

* * *

"Wow, there's so much to buy~!" said Aladdin, looking around the large market in amazement. It reminded Faith of a more Arabian-styled version of the starting town in WOW or SAO_…_ Yeah, she was gonna go with SAO since it felt like an adventure RPG, but with real life consequences… like actual death.

"Well, yeah," said Alibaba, "there's provisions, weapons…"

"Medicine, antidotes to negative effects, items that bolster statistics, and items that deal damage…" added Faith, ticking each of the items off on her fingers.

"What statistics…?" asked Alibaba, sweat-dropping. Why did this girl have to be so weird?

"Oh, don't worry about that, it's nothing." She replied carelessly. "It's and inside joke."

"An inside joke?" asked Aladdin curiously.

"With who?" Asked Alibaba, because it clearly wasn't Aladdin.

"Myself." She answered with a grin.

"…" Alibaba and Aladdin stared at her for a moment.

"Were you dropped on the head as a child?" asked Alibaba.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. But up until now, everyone else had the good grace not to mention it!" said Faith, giving him a punch in the arm.

"Ow!" Alibaba winced, biting his lip to keep from crying. That actually hurt… _a lot_. "A-Anyway, as I was saying… the city nearest the seventh dungeon is a gathering place for adventurers."

"Ooh~" said Aladdin when something shiny suddenly caught his eye. "Hey, Alibaba-kun, how about this thing?" he asked excitedly, holding up a super long blade that had several strange side attachments built in.

"And what would you use that fancy-ass thing for?" asked Alibaba, sweat-dropping.

"I don't know, but I like it!" said Faith with a thumbs up, giving the bizarre weapon her seal of approval. "Give me a heroic pose, Aladdin!"

"Okay!" said Aladdin, raising the sword as he lifted one leg off the ground, as if he had paused mid swing. This turned out to be a big mistake because the weapon was too heavy, and he began to wobble off-balance.

"Hey, stop_!_!_!_ That's dangerous!" Alibaba yelled as it swung his way. As he leaned back to avoid the blade, he felt himself bump into something. It was a girl carrying a huge basket of fruit. "Ah!" he cried in alarm and surprise as they all came crashing down. "I told you this would happen_!_!" he yelled with tears in his eyes, pale and trembling, as he eyed how close the strange weapon had come to skewering his head and/or the poor girl they had gotten involved in the mess.

"S—Sorry!" Aladdin cried, paling and flinching in shock at the damage he had done. "I'm sorry, onee-san, let me help!" he said, hurrying over to help the girl they had knocked over pick up the spilled fruit.

'Well, that was a disaster…' Faith thought wryly, moving to join the clean up effort, but neither her not Aladdin's help was necessary. Before they could do anything the dark-pink haired girl had already tossed it all back in the basket and stood up again.

"…" She stared down at them with a slightly annoyed pout on her face.

'Ooh… She's cute…' thought Alibaba and Faith.

"Sorry about that," Alibaba told her with a goofy grin on his face, "he's such an idiot…"

"Are you hurt? Would you like some help carrying that?" Faith asked with a bright smile as she shoved him out of the way.

"…_!_?" Alibaba exclaimed indignantly as he glared up at her. That little…! "I can take it for you!" he offered the cute girl as he scrambled to get back up.

"No… I'm fine." The girl replied coldly with a shake of her head. With that she promptly turned her back on them and started walking away.

"On second thought, not cute!" said Alibaba with a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"I dunno… Me, I like a strong woman." Said Faith with a smirk, stroking her chin like she had an invisible goatee.

"…" Aladdin was staring after the fruit girl with an odd expression on his face.

"…_!_!" Faith gasped, frowing when she saw what had caught his attention.

"What's up, with you guys?" asked Alibaba.

"T-Those…" Aladdin said, pointing to her ankles.

"!" Alibaba gasped too when he saw them, the chains. The girl flinched, looking startled when she realized they were staring at them with horrified looks on their faces. Her face flushed with shame and embarrassment as she broke out in a nervous sweat, and she quickly tried to pull her skirt down to hide the chains. Unfortunately, she lost her balance, and her fruit spilled over the side of the basket again.

"That girl, she has chains on her feet…" Aladdin said.

"…" Faith furrowed her brow as her frown deepened. It couldn't be…

"Yeah… She's a slave…" Alibaba said regretfully.

"Damn, so this place really does have slaves…?" Faith thought aloud, scowling at the idea.

"In this rotten world, there are people who wage wars just to get more slaves… They'll take whole families and sell them like livestock…" Alibaba continued with a frown. "Well… until I settle this debt, I'm kind of in the same boat… Huh? Where's Aladdin?" he asked, doing a double take when he realized the kid wasn't standing next to him anymore.

"Over there." Faith said, pointing to Aladdin as he ran over to the enslaved girl, who was still struggling to hide her shackles and refill her basket at the same time.

"?" said Alibaba, wondering what he was up to.

"Hold on, onee-san!" Aladdin said, pulling out his flute.

"?" the girl said, wondering what he was going to do as he aimed it at her chain and blew.

_CRACK!_

With one note, Aladdin broke the chain.

"Ohh~!" Faith said with appreciation, clapping. Nice one.

"All better! Now miss…" said Aladdin with a radiant smile, "you can walk down the street without having to hide your legs!"

"…!" The girl gasped, blushing nervously as she stared up at him in shock and awe. No way…

_'Crap!_!_!_' Alibaba screamed in his mind, turning blue with shock. At that time in this world willingly freeing someone who was enslaved was the same as theft of another's property. In short… It was a crime. And there were lots of witnesses to this one. "H-Hey! Taking those chains off is a big no-no_!_!" Alibaba exclaimed nervously, rushing over to them.

"Why's that?" Aladdin asked innocently.

"Why_!_?" said Alibaba nervously, taken aback. "Well, that's…"

"Why's it bad?" Aladdin asked.

"…" Alibaba couldn't find it in himself to reply. He looked at the girl the boy was trying to help. Freeing a slave was a crime, but… but…

"It's not bad. You didn't do anything wrong." Faith told Aladdin. "Can you stand?" she asked the girl, offering her a hand.

"…" The girl stared up at the two strangers in astonishment. These two… who were they…? Why would they—

"Hey! What's all the ruckus_!_?" Someone shouted. "Hey, don't crowd around me!" said its fat owner as he pushed his way through the crowd. "Right now I'm in a bad… Hm?" He stopped short when he saw their little group.

"…" Alibaba stared at the man for a moment in disbelief. It was that greedy wine merchant, Budel.

"_Ah!_!" They both shouted abruptly the moment it clicked.

"W—Why are you here…_!_?" Alibaba asked, cowering in shock and alarm. Of all the people…

"Hey! I remember you from yesterday…" said Aladdin, pointing at Budel.

"Yeah…" said Faith.

"The old guy with boobs!/The greedy fat-ass!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

"Shut the hell up, you brats_!_!" Budel snapped with a vein popping out of his forehead. He was just 'pleasantly plump'! "Dammit it all, it's your fault that I lost the trust of my best customers_!_! I'll never forgive you…_!_!" he shouted furiously at Alibaba. Alibaba trembled a little as he shrank behind Aladdin and Faith. "Hmm?" Budel paused in his rant when he spotted the slave with a broken chain sitting on the ground by them. "Peons like you… do know that steal slaves is considered grand larceny, right?"

"We… don't know anything." Alibaba answered grimly, clapping his hands over the other two's mouths.

"Be my slave." The vindictive wine merchant demanded suddenly with a sneer.

"!" Alibaba gasped and the blood drained from his face as he stared at the man in horror.

"You can be my slave… for your whole life… And work!" sneered Budel, grabbing the girl Aladdin had tried to free by the wrist, yanking her to her feet. "Oh, and don't worry, I will get every penny's worth from you! Being a slave is tough… huh_!_? I can do all kinds of things to you, and you can't say a word…" As he spoke, Budel pulled the poor girl's hair and twisted her wrist.

"S-Stop it…" Alibaba said shakily, dripping with cold sweat. He wanted to help the girl, but he was afraid. "S…"

"If you don't like it, then let's talk payment, then_!_!" Budel barked loftily, laughing as he enjoyed the power he had over Alibaba because of the debt.

_BAM!_!

"—_!_!" Budel choked in pain when Faith suddenly gave him a good strong kick in the shin.

"Hey, cut that shit out, lard-ass!" she snapped angrily, giving him a swift kick in said fat ass that was hard enough to send him rolling head over heels onto his knees.

"Take this, piggy!" said Aladdin, giving him a quick but sharp stab up the poop chute with Ugo's flute. Budel nearly coughed up blood as his eyes bulged out in pain. "Why are you doing mean things like that, ojii-san? Just cause he owes you some money, doesn't mean you get to boss him around…_!_!"

"Yeah, we all know slavery's shit! You really think you can put a price tag on somebody's life? Huh_!_?" Faith added belligerently, bringing her foot down on Budel's back with an ominous crack. She was seriously pissed off with this guy! "Just shut the hell up, already!" She said, flipping him off.

"Yeah! Because Alibaba isn't gonna to be your slave!" said Aladdin, making a face as he stuck out his tongue at the man.

"It's people like you we hate the most, ojii-san/fat-ass_!_!" they finished together. By this time, Budel was so enraged and humiliated that he had begun to turn a rather interesting shade of purple.

_"Officer!_!" He shouted with veins throbbing all over his head and neck. _"I've found some slave thieves!_!"

_"!_?" said Alibaba, flinching in shock.

_"You'd better come quick, these three have pure evil in their eyes! They're low-down slave rustlers!_!"

"Whaaat_!_?" Alibaba shouted incredulously.

"Time to go_!_!" said Faith, pulling the boys along as she promptly made a run for it the moment she heard the stampeding feet of the policemen rounding the corner.

"Don't you dare take our master's things_!_!" The police shouted as they ran after them.

"Fuck da police!" Faith shouted, tipping over a barrel of apples as they passed a fruit stand to slow them down.

"He's called the cavalry_!_!" Alibaba yelled nervously. "Run away_!_! If they catch us now, it's game over_!_!" The three of them ran, following his lead as he weaved through the alleyways. "Gah_!_!" He cried out when another group of policemen suddenly ran out from another side street to cut them off.

"Man, you suck at this_!_!" said Faith. She never got caught when Hope was in charge of the getaway!

"They've got us surrounded_!_!" Alibaba shouted anxiously as the police closed in. "No… No! I can't let it end here_!_!" he cried as they grabbed him. "You bastards think I'm just gonna give up_!_? I'm on to bigger things…_!_!"

"Well said_!_!" said Faith, kicking and punching away the men grabbing at them while Aladdin blew into the flute. Out came Ugo-kun, all the way up to his neck. The police cried out in alarm as the three of them rose into the air on the blue giant's back.

"Mwahahaha_!_! That's right, bitches!" Faith laughed as they cowered in fear. Alibaba looked like he had almost wet his pants.

"It's not over_!_!" said Aladdin. "From here on is our… dungeon diving adventure_!_!" Alibaba's eyes widened for a moment as he stared at the smiling and excited faces of Aladdin and Faith. Alibaba grit his teeth and furrowed his brow with determination. That's right… This was just the beginning!

"Don't let them get away! Catch those dirty mice using any means necessary_!_!" Budel yelled furiously. _"I'll curse you for the rest of your miserable little life! You'll be my slave until you pay all of that money back, I'll make you regret being born, and then kill you!_!" He shouted after Alibaba.

'I'm already fully aware of the debt I have, and that I have no way of paying it back! But I'm not doing this for the sake of repayment_!_!' Alibaba thought tensely. "Let's go dungeon diving_!_!" He told Aladdin and Faith.

"Yeah_!_!" They cheered, beaming with excitement, while Ugo sprinted away with all three of them riding on his shoulder's.

"…" The girl they had tried to help quickly gathered up her basket, pausing to glance back at them, before taking off herself.

"Thank goodness, it looks like that girl got away!" said Aladdin, looking back.

"Good! And I hope they never catch her!" said Faith.

"…" Alibaba stared back at the empty spot on the street where the girl used to be for a moment, the he turned to face forward again and search for the dungeon. He hoped so too.

"Are you okay, sir? Does it hurt anywhere?" two of Budel's men asked him as they helped their boss up the front steps of a very large and extravagant mansion.

"Shut up! Just keep carrying me!" the fat merchant snapped with tears in his eyes. "Boss_!_! I mean, Chief! Chief_!_!" Budel cried as they entered the office of the man who ran the city of Qishan. The young noble was having his shoulders massaged by two beautiful slaves as he worked at his desk.

"_?_?_?_" He said when he looked up from the scroll and saw the state the wine merchant was in. "What's up? Your face looks all dirtied up…"

"I—I have a report! Hah-hah…" Budel said, panting heavily and dripping with sweat. He had hurried over as fast as he could.

"Calm down, you look totally wiped out…" said the Chief with a look of disgust.

"Forgive my impertinence…" said Budel anxiously. "For I have found him, the brat that ruined me!"

"I already know everything about him. My precious puppy told me…" said the Chief, signaling for her to come forward.

"Ah! Y…You're…_!_!" Budel gasped, flinching in shock when he saw the girl. It was the slave that Alibaba and the others had tried to free! Instead of running away, she had run back to her master and told him everything. The chief smirked.

"You're a good girl, Morgiana." He praised his slave. "How about dinner together?"

"No thanks." She answered squarely.

"Ahahaha, you're cute when you're aloof, you know?" He told her with a smile. "In any case… our prey is after something much better…" He mused slyly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Previously:**

"I already know everything about him. My precious puppy told me…" said the Chief, signaling for her to come forward.

"Ah! Y…You're…_!_!" Budel gasped, flinching in shock when he saw the girl. It was the slave that Alibaba and the others had tried to free! Instead of running away, she had run back to her master and told him everything. The chief smirked.

"You're a good girl, Morgiana." He praised his slave. "How about dinner together?"

"No thanks." She answered squarely.

"Ahahaha, you're cute when you're aloof, you know?" He told her with a smile. "In any case… our prey is after something much better…" He mused slyly.

* * *

**Chapter 10: The Dungeon's Center  
**

* * *

"I don't see those police guys anymore!" said Aladdin as their little group of three ran up the steps to the dungeon on their own two feet once Ugo had safely returned to his flute.

"Ugo's the best getaway driver ever!" Faith said with a grin.

"Hey, look you guys! I see the entrance to the dungeon straight ahead!" said Alibaba, pointing to it. Faith didn't know ho he thought they could've missed it, given the fact that it was right in front of them and _glowing_. "My whole body's shaking…" he said seriously, sweating nervously. "There isn't a person who's gone up against this gate and won… Much less come back to talk about it…_!_! It really does feel like I'm standing before the 'entrance to death'…_!_!" He stopped and stood before the entrance. "Whoa… It's really funny looking…" He said nervously, slowly extending a shaking hand towards the glowing membrane.

_WHAM!_!

"_!_?" Alibaba exclaimed when Aladdin and Faith suddenly slammed into him from behind, pushing him through the entrance without any warning so that he could mentally prepare himself. _"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_!_!_" Alibaba screamed as they fell.

"WHEEEEEEEE_!_!_!_" Faith squealed excitedly, "Whoa!" She exclaimed when she felt a pulling sensation that was eerie similar to the one she had felt back on the plane with her sister and found herself floating over another world that had several pillars of light shooting forth from it. 'Wait… what the…_!_?' she thought, shielding her eyes as the light surrounding her increased to a blinding intensity. And then, suddenly, she felt cold and wet, and she couldn't breathe. "Fuwaah!" Faith gasped for air as she broke through the surface of the water. "?" she blinked in confusion as she looked down and realized she was now sitting in the middle of an eight-pointed star that had been carved into the bed of a shallow spring.

"Yay! You're finally here, Faith!" Aladdin said cheerfully. She looked up and saw that Aladdin and Alibaba had beaten her there and were already standing on dry land.

"Finally?" she asked.

"Yeah… I don't get it, but apparently Aladdin emerged first…" said Alibaba, rubbing the back of his neck.

"See, my clothes are all dry now!" said Aladdin.

'Wow, he's right!' Faith realized. 'That's weird… we got in at the same time, so how did they get here first? Is time screwed up in this place…?' she wondered. "I see you're still wet…" she remarked to Alibaba.

"That's because Alibaba only just got here a minute ago!" answered Aladdin.

"Oh, I see… I wonder why we arrived in such a messed up order?" she said, sweat-dropping, as she climbed out of the spring. Maybe they were saving the best for last?

"That's what I'd like to know." said Alibaba as they all started walking further in. "Whoa, the sky is dark and the ground is red… everything changed in a second…"

"It's kind of pretty…" said Faith. It sort of reminded her of how the Grand Canyon looked at night, but without all the stars.

"Yeah!" Aladdin agreed. "Though it's pretty and all… I can't help but think I've seen this scenery before…"

"Really? Where?" Faith asked as she and Alibaba glanced curiously at their little friend. Somehow… he didn't seem like his usual self.

"Hey, c'mon!" Aladdin said suddenly, grabbing each both of them by the hand. "There's something great over there too!" he told them, pulling them along as he lead the way. Faith blinked and Alibaba shielded his eyes as they rushed from out of the darkness into light.

"_!_!" They gasped in astonishment when their eyes finished adjusting to the sudden change. They had come to a large, cavernous opening illuminated by a huge glow and bright beams radiating down from the ceiling of the cave. Squinting, Faith could see that there was actually some kind of moss growing wherever there was light, and the far wall was lined with rows and rows of tunnels.

"Wh… What the hell_!_?" Alibaba exclaimed in surprise. "The rock wall is shining… and I've never seen those plants before!"

"I know, Isn't it flippin' Cool_!_?" Faith said excitedly with sparkling eyes and a wide grin. "Now that's what I call a 'dungeon'_!_!"

"Yeah, that's a dungeon_!_!" Alibaba agreed, suddenly feeling pumped again.

"We did it_!_!" Aladdin cheered.

"I can't believe we're here_!_!" Alibaba said excitedly. "I guess that spring earlier must have been the 'starting point'…"

"Starting point?" asked Aladdin.

"Yeah! I read all about it in the famous 'Sinbad's Adventure Log'… Upon entering the dungeon's gate, one will fly through a pillar of light. Upon advancing on the correct path, treasures await. Most importantly, it is there that the 'Djinn Vessel' can be obtained." Alibaba explained.

"Oooh." Aladdin and Faith cooed.

'So I guess this 'Sinbad' must be that first dungeon conqueror he told us about before…' she thought. Aladdin, Alibaba, Sinbad… was it just her, or did there seem to be a lot of people here named after characters from the _Arabian Nights_ stories…? But more importantly… "In other words, we can get all the treasures we want if we find that 'goal' thingy where the treasures are! And Then I can use them to fund a massive search for my sister_!_!" she declared, pumping her fist in the air.

"Your what?" Alibaba asked, taken aback.

"My sister, Hope. We got separated, so now I have to find her again. I've been looking for her while we traveled together." She explained, pointing to Aladdin and the Djinn in the flute.

"I see…" said Alibaba.

"But there sure are a lot of entrances here…" Aladdin remarked, looking around at all the tunnels. "How do we find the right path without getting lost?"

"Yeah, good question…" said Faith with a frown. "It's too bad Hope isn't here, she's a genius."

"Huh? Alibaba-kun…" said Aladdin, glancing back at his new friend when he didn't answer. He was trembling with excitement.

"Let's go, Aladdin and Faith, down this hole!" Alibaba said, suddenly taking off like a shot as he headed for the nearest hole.

"What_!_? Why that one_!_?" Aladdin asked, flinching in shock.

"Yahoo_!_! What's the matter, Faith_!_?" Alibaba taunted the older girl. "You chicken_!_?"

"Who you callin' chicken, boy_!_?" she yelled, immediately taking off after him.

"Ah_!_! Wait…?" Aladdin called out anxiously. He paused briefly outside the hole when something caught his eye before he continued hurrying after them, deciding he had better chase after them before they got too far ahead and wound up separated.

Meanwhile, back in the Chief's mansion…

"… Huh? Sir, what did you just say?" Budel asked, stunned by what he had just heard. The Chief couldn't be serious…

"Don't make me repeat myself… I said I'm going dungeon diving." Said the young Chief as he stood up from behind his desk.

"Are you serious, Chief_!_? Many thousands have made the dungeons their graves_!_! Going dungeon diving is the same as having a death wish_!_!" Budel exclaimed anxiously, breaking out in a nervous sweat.

"…" The Chief paused for a moment while he adjusted his coat. "Well, you aren't wrong… but those kids from earlier are going into a dungeon… So if little guys like them can do it, then I should have no problem, right? I've been waiting for him… the time to ascend had come."

"_?_?" Budel said, confused. 'Ascend'…? What was he talking about?

"Ascend?" asked one of Budel's men. "Sir, there's hardly any reason for that…"

"That's right, sir!" said one of the Chief's servants. "You have wealth, slaves, and the amount of land you own is second to none."

"Yes…" said the Chief. "My territory is matched by no other man in our kingdom… But then, why not aim for the top?" he finished with a smirk as he stalked towards two female slaves bearing bowls of fruit and wine. "You see… I'm not satisfied… with this food, these women… or the land I own!" He shouted, swatting the food from their hands and pushing the two women to the ground so he could kick them repeatedly to vent his anger as he spoke. "As long as the king is there, I am still only second!" Budel and the others cringed as they watched, terrified that they might be next to endure his wrath. "So if I go dungeon diving… I'll have the country I deserve_!_!" the young Chief finished spitefully. "Let's go_!_!" he ordered Morgiana and the rest of his slaves.

"Man, I can't believe we've finally made it here!" Alibaba said excitedly as the three of them continued to walk down the first tunnel together. "It feels so awesome! I'm sure once I get the treasure, the old man is gonna freak out!"

"You mean once _we_ get the treasure." Faith corrected him.

"Yeah, yeah, you know what I meant… Anyway, it'll be great! Right, Aladd—" Alibaba started to ask their little friend, when the boy abruptly reached out and grabbed him from behind.

_—WHAMM!_

Alibaba immediately face-planted smack in the middle of the ground.

"Pfft! Ahahaha_!_!" Faith laughed, practically rolling on the ground. She didn't know why Aladdin had just done that, but it was comedy gold!

"Quit laughing_!_!" Alibaba snapped at Faith before turning to face Aladdin. "Why'd you do that_!_?" he demanded incredulously, holding his poor bleeding nose. It'd better not be broken, or…!

"Well… actually, I'm kind of scared now…" Aladdin admitted with a nervous smile.

"You're scared?" Faith asked, surprised. 'Come to think of it, he has been awfully quiet…' she realized. He had hardly spoken a word once they'd entered the tunnel. "Is something wrong?"

"No, well… It's just that I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this… So how about we go back, and give this some more thought?" he suggested rather maturely.

"Hmm… That might be a good idea…" Faith said thoughtfully, taking a moment to consider it. Hope would probably have suggested something similar if she were there…

"What are you talking about_!_?" Alibaba asked, staring at them in disbelief. "Man up, and let's go! You want to get to the treasure room, don't you?"

"Yeah... but… what if we die, before we get it?" asked Aladdin calmly. Alibaba's eyes widened in surprise. Huh?

"Yeah… that would make it pretty difficult…" Faith agreed.

"Alibaba-kun, you said it yourself… in all the ten years worth of dungeon-diving, no one has ever returned from the 'hole of death'. This is really dangerous, especially if we lose our way in this dungeon." Aladdin reminded him. "This is where are dreams are going to come true, right? So let's take a step back and think about this together!" he finished with a kind smile.

"…!" said Alibaba, taken aback. "Y-Yeah… You're right…" he said a bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

It was then that Alibaba's thoughts began to wander. The still unknown secrets of the dungeon caused his heart to lose confidence and waver. On the other hand, Faith seemed to have adapted quickly to the idea of danger, and Aladdin remained level-headed. He had already been one step ahead of Alibaba and Faith, and waited for this moment. It was this little stopover after their entrance, and the decision to turn around, that saved their lives.

"There sure are a lot of holes, though…" remarked Faith as they looked around.

"And they all look the same too…" said Alibaba.

"Alibaba-kun! Faith!" Aladdin called to them, standing by one of the entrances. "Hey_!_! Look what I found_!_!" He said excitedly, pointing to a mark that had been made on the wall next to the hole. "This hole has something written on the wall beside it!"

"Hm? Let me see!" Alibaba and Faith said, rushing over to have a look.

"Ah! You're right!" he said.

"It's an 'X'!" said Faith.

"What does it mean?" asked Aladdin?

"Uh… maybe 'X' marks the spot?" she suggested.

"Are there any more?" asked Alibaba.

"Let's have a look!" said Aladdin. The three of them started darting about looking for more marks outside the other holes.

"This one is an 'O'!" said Aladdin.

"This one has a triangle!" said Faith.

"And this one… I really don't know." said Alibaba, sweat-dropping. His mark just looked like a random arrangement of intersecting scratches. "But it seems like the holes around here all have some kind of mark…"

Thirty minutes later, the three of them had finished examining all of the holes and had plopped themselves down on the ground for a break.

"O, X, X, O…" Aladdin sang, making a list of all the different shapes and symbols they had discovered by drawing them in the dirt with a twig. "There are so many, yet we have no idea what they're for."

"Maybe all the O's are for the correct path?" Faith suggested hopefully.

"Oh, maybe so?" said Aladdin with a smile.

"As if it's that simple!" snapped Alibaba with a vein popping on his forehead.

"My, sounds like Mr. McCrankypants over there needs a nap…" Faith mumbled under her breath, sweat-dropping. Well, it was a bit annoying that this first challeng was taking so long to figure out… 'But he's right, it probably can't be that simple, or so many people wouldn't have gotten lost in this place over the last then years…' she thought, taking another look around.

"…!" Alibaba gasped suddenly after a few minutes. "Wait, could it be…?"

"What is it?" asked Faith. "Did you think of something?"

"Maybe… Hey, Faith! Aladdin! Find a hole without a mark!" Alibaba said urgently.

"O-Okay…?" They said, exchanging a brief glance before dashing off to do as he said, wondering what he was up to.

"Here we go!" Aladdin said after a moment. "This one has no mark on it, but…"

"All right…" Alibaba said determinedly, coming over to examine it for himself. "This is… the correct path!" he stated confidently, placing his hand against the unmarked hole.

"What?" Aladdin and Faith said, surprised.

"Then why doesn't it…? _Ohhh_…_!_!" Faith gasped as the answer suddenly clicked. "Of course! I get it now!"

"You do?" asked Aladdin, still a bit confused. "So, if this is the right path, why doesn't have a mark on it?"

"That's because…" Alibaba started to explain.

"That's because only the _wrong_ paths have a mark, right?" said Faith excitedly.

"Uh, yeah… right." Said Alibaba, a little chagrined that she had the nerve to steal some of his thunder when he had figured it out first. "Just let me explain the rest though, 'kay…? Aladdin, this mark is large and rough, so I got the idea that it was made by a human." He said, pointing to the 'O' marked on the wall beside the neighboring hole. "So then, who do you think drew this?"

"Hmm… I guess someone else who was here before us?" said Aladdin.

"That's right!" said Alibaba. "It was someone in this dungeon ten years ago! It was the people who came into this very same passage throughout the years! The first set of people who got lost in these dungeons a long time ago made these marks. Like us, they were trying to figure out which is the right way… However, they found both entrances that were right and wrong. So, Aladdin, tell me. If you walked along and found out that the path you took was wrong, what would you do?"

"… I'd go back, and try another path."

"Yeah! That's what you'd do if you had to return. That explains why all the different holes have marks on them. Whenever you go in one and find out it's wrong, you come back out and make a mark and try another. I think you know where I'm going with this, don't you?"

"…" Aladdin stared blankly for a moment while he thought about it. "Yeah_!_!" He said excitedly as his eyes lit up with understanding. "The hole without a mark by the entrance is the right!"

"Bingo_!_!_!"_ said Alibaba with a grin.

"Yeah! Not bad, huh?" said Faith, giving Alibaba a pat on the back. "He's almost as smart as my sister!"

"Well, I'm definitely smarter than _you_!" he retorted with a smirk.

"Don't make me hit you…" she warned him ominously with narrowed eyes while she gave his shoulder a sharp (but not too crippling) squeeze to remind him who was boss. Alibaba did his best to suppress the whimper that threatened to escape his mouth. "So, you get it, Aladdin? Hundreds of other divers before us have led us here. Because of them, now we know exactly what path to go down…_!_!"

"Awesome, now we won't have to guess which is the wrong one!" said Aladdin excitedly.

"Y-Yeah… That leaves us with just one!" said Alibaba as he massaged his poor shoulder, still a little teary-eyed. "The one without a mark!"

"Which means… that entrance is… _the right one!"_ The three of them concluded together, standing before the unmarked hole.

"Let's go, boys_!_!" Faith cheered, leading the way.

"Yay~!" Aladdin cheered.

"Hey, wait for me_!_!" Alibaba huffed indignantly. Wasn't _he_ supposed to be the leader here_!_?


	11. Chapter 11

**Previously:**

_"Yeah! Not bad, huh?" said Faith, giving Alibaba a pat on the back. "He's almost as smart as my sister!"_

_"Well, I'm definitely smarter than you!" he retorted with a smirk._

_"Don't make me hit you…" she warned him ominously with narrowed eyes while she gave his shoulder a sharp (but not too crippling) squeeze to remind him who was boss. Alibaba did his best to suppress the whimper that threatened to escape his mouth. "So, you get it, Aladdin? Hundreds of other divers before us have led us here. Because of them, now we know exactly what path to go down…!_!"

_"Awesome, now we won't have to guess which is the wrong one!" said Aladdin excitedly._

_"Y-Yeah… That leaves us with just one!" said Alibaba as he massaged his poor shoulder, still a little teary-eyed. "The one without a mark!"_

_"Which means… that entrance is… the right one!" The three of them concluded together, standing before the unmarked hole._

_"Let's go, boys!_!"_ Faith cheered, leading the way._

_"Yay~!" Aladdin cheered._

_"Hey, wait for me!_!_" Alibaba huffed indignantly. Wasn't_ _he supposed to be the leader here!_?

* * *

**Chapter 11: The Dungeon's Menace**

* * *

"We're making some great progress." Alibaba remarked as they made they way through the tunnel together.

"There don't seem to be any traps, either." said Faith.

"That's because we picked the right path!" Aladdin said brightly.

"That aside, isn't this cave really bright?" said Alibaba.

"Alibaba-kun! It's the moss!" Aladdin said excitedly, pointing to a patch he had spotted growing on the wall.

"You're right!" said Faith, letting out a whistle of amazement. It was all over the ceiling too, but it was much easier to get close enough to see what the stuff on the wall actually was. "This yellow moss growing on the walls is really shiny!"

"Oh~! It's for real!" Alibaba exclaimed excitedly as he came closer to have a better look. "I've never seen this kind of stuff before~!"

"It's pretty~" said Aladdin, smiling while they all basked in the warm glow for a moment.

"Yeah…" Faith agreed, suddenly overcome with a feeling of nostalgia. "It reminds me of when my sister and I sneaked out to walk along the beach of the 'Sea of Stars' at night during our last family vacation in the Maldives… only Hope told me the glow was being caused by phytoplankton… and they glowed blue, not yellow…" It was a shame Hope couldn't see this too. She would have loved it.

"Sea of Stars? Maldives?" asked Aladdin curiously.

"I've never heard of that, where is it?" asked Alibaba.

"Somewhere super far away…" she answered with a sigh. A whole different world, in fact. "Sorry, but just forget I mentioned it, okay?" she told them, patting Aladdin on the head. "I shouldn't have said anything…"

"?" Aladdin said, tilting his head to the side as he wondered what that odd expression on her face was for. After several more minutes of staring at the pretty glowing moss in silence, they decided that they should probably get a move on.

"There's plenty in this 'dungeon' that we're seeing for the first time." Said Alibaba.

"Yep!" Aladdin agreed cheerfully.

"Hey, you guys! There are even more lights coming from that room!" said Faith, pointing to another opening just ahead.

"Really?" Aladdin asked excitedly.

"Let's have a look!" said Alibaba.

"Woooow~!" they exclaimed, shielding their eyes as they entered the bright chamber of light. The source of the glow turned out to be a bunch of huge round things hanging from the ceiling.

"What are these things_!_?" Faith asked excitedly.

"They're balls of light_!_!" said Alibaba as they all stared up at the shining orbs in amazement. "I've never seen anything like them_!_!"

"Awesome_!_!_!_" cheered Aladdin. "They shine like rainbows… And they smell kind of good~" He was starting to drool. "They've got to be some new species of fruit_!_!"

"No way. See that line connecting them? And the lights? That's all treasure, man!" Alibaba said excitedly.

"I don't know…" Faith said. "They seem a little too… 'organic' for that…" Given all the experience she had from watching a million scifi and creature features over the years, she was starting to get a sinking feeling. 'Nah, it couldn't be…' she thought, shrugging it off. 'They're way too pretty-looking to be what I think they are…'

"Let's name these things 'rainbow balls'_!_!" Alibaba decided enthusiastically.

"So awesome_!_!" cheered Aladdin.

"…" A vein throbbed on Faith's forehead. They were totally ignoring her again…

"There sure are a lot of exciting things in this dungeon, eh?" said Aladdin. "I'm so glad we came, Alibaba-kun!"

"Yeah… I've gotta hand it to you, you picked a good spot for an adventure." Faith admitted a bit grudgingly. "Thanks for bringing us along for the ride."

"What're you talking about? No matter how you slice it, I should be saying that to you!" Alibaba told them. "I've always wanted to come to a dungeon, but I couldn't so it on my own, because I thought I'd die. Then you two came along, and I finally did it… I owe you tons of thanks for saving me as well."

"Well, when you put it that way… I guess I haven't thanked you properly yet for trying to save me from that evil flower... So, thanks!" said Faith with a wry smile.

"Yeah!" said Alibaba, smiling back. It was nice to finally get some real appreciation! "So let's keep working together from here on in… and keep this show on the road! Okay, Aladdin?" he asked, turning to pat the younger boy on the head with a smile.

"Uh… You'd better open your eyes, Alibaba…" Faith said, staring at the thing he was petting with wide eyes. "That's not Aladdin!" Alibaba's eyes popped open, and his face froze in a marvelous impression of _The Scream_ as he stared at the large giant bug-like creature he suddenly found himself face to face with.

"… Ah…" Alibaba said as he slowly backed away from it, almost too stunned to react.

"Aladdin…" Faith called carefully as she began looking around, trying to figure out where he had wandered off to without alarming the creature.

"A-Aladdin…!" Alibaba cried.

"Faith! Alibaba-kun!" They heard Aladdin cry from somewhere behind them. They immediately whipped their heads around, but whatever relief they felt was extremely short-lived. There, towering over them, was a giant version of the creature in front of them… and Aladdin's head had somehow managed to its way into the thing's mouth. For a moment, Faith and Alibaba were so shocked by what they were seeing, that they just stood there like a couple of dears stuck in a pair of headlights.

"You gotta save me… Please…" Aladdin begged weakly, to wave one of his hands at them, even though he couldn't see anything with his head stuck inside the creepy crawler's mouth.

"GYAHHHHHHH_!_!_!_" Their screams echoed shrilly throughout the cavern.

"Spit him out, you bastard_!_!" Faith yelled, delivering a swift round house kick to the creature's gut, while Alibaba pulled Aladdin free from its jaws. "I-Is he all right…_!_?" She asked anxiously.

"My body's all sticky…" Aladdin groaned with a shudder, understandably traumatized.

_CRACK._

"_!_?" Faith gasped in alarm and whipped her head around just in time to see several of the rainbow balls crack as some insect-like legs broke through their shell. _"GODEFFINGDAMMITT!_!" she yelled. They _were_ eggs after all…_!_!

"They aren't treasures, they aren't treasure at all_!_!" Alibaba cried. "They're the eggs of ant monsters_!_!"

"No shit, Sherlock_!_!" shouted Faith nervously. "Ugh! Why'd it have to be bugs_!_?" Big bugs were her only weakness!

"Hold on to me, Faith and Alibaba-kun_!_!" Aladdin said urgently, holding his flute out in front of him as he took a deep breath. _"PHWEEEEEEEE!_!" it cried shrilly, and out came Ugo-kun, all the way from his giant blue feet to his giant blue shoulders.

"Let's get out of here_!_!" Alibaba yelled as the Djinn started running with the three of them clinging to his shoulders for dear life. The giant ants stopped their fruitless pursuit and stared hard at Ugo's back as he ran away with their prey, focusing especially close on the movement and formation of his powerful leg muscles.

_SQUISH._

The flesh bulged out on the largest ant's leg as it began reshaping itself.

"Geez_!_! That was close_!_!" said Alibaba.

"Well, at least they don't seem to be chasing us…" Faith said, releasing some of the tension in her body by exhaling a huge sigh of relief. She had been really freaked out back there.

"Then… do you think I could rest a little?" Aladdin asked.

"Huh?" said Alibaba.

"Yeah, that might be a good idea." Said Faith. He looked tired. "I have a feeling we're going to need Ugo-kun's help again before this is over…" Aladdin nodded and stopped blowing on the flute. Ugo quickly deposited them on the ground and returned to his flute.

"Hey, why not blow on that flute until we're in the clear_!_?" Alibaba asked nervously.

"We've got to save it…!" Aladdin told him. "I've already called Ugo-kun twice today… and in order to summon him… I have to use power from within my self!" he explained while the three of them continued to run on foot. His little stomach let out a loud growl. "I'm so hungry~" He cried, rubbing his empty tummy.

"Here!" said Faith, handing him a banana. "I snagged it while we were running from the police earlier!" One of the many useful things that she and her sister had learned watching _Dr. Who_ was this: always take a banana with you when going on a trip, because you never knew when you might need one. (In fact, it was the bunch of bananas that Faith had tossed in their carry-on tote that had prevented Hope from totally starving for the three days she was trapped in Ipos' dungeon.)

"You mean, you _stole_ it_!_?" Alibaba shouted incredulously. While Aladdin devoured it as if he hadn't been fed for a week. "That's a crime, you know!"

"I'm gonna pay for it eventually!" she said defensively. "Besides, is this really the time to complain_!_?" Something was coming up on them from behind, and fast! They all glanced back over their shoulders to see what it was as the rumbling sound of its footsteps grew louder and closer at an alarming pace. Their jaws dropped when they saw what it was. The giant ants were back, and they had somehow morphed their spindly little lower insect legs into huge meaty and muscular legs (with toes and everything!) that Hercules himself would envy.

_"WHAAAAAT!_?" They all shouted incredulously.

"How the fu—_!_?" Faith started to ask, when several ants suddenly lunged forward and tried to run around to cut off their escape. "Aladdin, throw the peel_!_!" she yelled, pointing to a spot on the floor ahead of them.

SPLAT! _SLIIIIDE!_

When one ant's fleshy foot landed on the banana peel, it slipped so spectacularly, that it looked like something straight out of an old cartoon, and bowled over just enough of its buddies to let them through.

"Wow_!_!" Aladdin exclaimed, surprised by how much damage such a simple act could cause. He had no idea banana peels could be so destructive…

"Strike_!_!" Faith cheered with a victorious laugh, thanking her early exposure to easily imitate-able violence, as they sprinted through the hole in the crowd. Unfortunately, their victory was short-lived. Another wave of ants lunged forward, and they were out all out bananas this time. The creatures had them surrounded! "Argh…_!_! This is such bullshit_!_!" she shouted angrily, stomping her foot.

"Crap_!_! They've trapped us_!_! Where the hell did they get those feet from anyway_!_?" Alibaba cried. 'To hell with this_!_! As if I'm gonna let some overgrown ant kill me_!_!' he thought, drawing his knife. "Yah_!_!" he yelled, cutting down the nearest creatures. "Whoa, they cut as easily as moldy apricots…_!_!"

"Nice one_!_!" said Faith.

"_!_?" They gasped when it collapsed in a pile of slimy goop, only to rise up and reform itself again right before their eyes.

"What_!_?" Alibaba shouted incredulously as they all flinched in shock.

"Ah_!_! I get it!" Faith said excitedly while Alibaba continued to fight. "They aren't 'ants' at all…! They're slime monsters_!_! Slime monsters that can change their shape_!_!" They were basically level 1 monsters with the ability to level up by shape-shifting… Not a bad design for a game monster…

"Y-You're right_!_!" said Alibaba. "They're not bugs… No matter how much I cut them down, they get back up…_!_!"

"Yah_!_!" Faith yelled with a grin as she got back in the game, cutting one in half with a sharp sweeping kick. Giant bugs were creepy, but monsters… monsters she could handle! "Man, what I wouldn't give for a freezing spell right about now!" Alibaba was right, no matter what they did, the creatures just kept coming.

"I'll cut you guys up so small that you won't be able to get up again_!_!" Alibaba shouted at the creatures in frustration.

"…" The slime monsters stopped for a moment and glared at them. Then they started shifting forms again.

"Hm_!_?" Alibaba said, confused when they began morphing from their mutant ant forms into balls of slime.

"What are they…?" Faith wondered aloud as one slime appeared, and then another and another… Then all the slimes began to merge with each other…

"…" Alibaba, Faith, and Aladdin all stared with wide eyes and open mouths as the quivering mass of slime transformed itself into a huge Ugo-sized humanoid form with a myriad of eyes all over its body that was wielding double 'blades', had Alibaba's cowlick, and appeared to be wearing 'shoes' similar to Faith's. The king slime had appeared_!_!

"… Shit." breathed Faith.

_"YAAAAAAHHHHHHH!_!" It unleashed a powerful roar. Faith and Aladdin immediately covered their ears as the three of them braced themselves against the whipping force of its breath.

"Move it_!_!" Faith yelled as the slime king swung one of its massive swords.

"Whoaaa_!_!" Aladdin cried as she tackled him and Alibaba out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by the attack.

"A… Are you kidding me_!_?_!_?_!_?" Alibaba shouted incredulously, turning deathly pale and breaking out in a cold sweat, as he stared at the huge rift the slime king's blade had just gouged out of the ground where they had been standing. This was insane_!_!

"Shit just got real…_!_!" Faith said with a rueful smirk, dripping with sweat.

"… Sorry, but we're going to need you a third time, Ugo-kun_!_!" Aladdin said anxiously, blowing into the flute. Once again, Ugo emerged to aid them in battle with Aladdin riding on his shoulders, blowing continuously into the flute. The slime king swiped Ugo and Aladdin with a blade, but Ugo ducked swiftly and countered with a powerful right hook that obliterated the top left of the slime king's torso.

"Oh-hoho…_!_! Kick his ass, Ugo-kun_!_!_!_" Faith cheered excitedly. She hoped Aladdin could keep it up.

"Sweet_!_!" Alibaba exclaimed. "From here, we totally got this win in the bag!"

"You doing okay, Aladdin_!_?" Faith called. He still looked pretty exhausted, even though bananas were a great source of potassium.

"I'm fine… We're going to get to the treasure, I promise you_!_!" Aladdin said determinedly. "Even if it means using… our trump card!" He was still feeling really weak and hungry, but the banana had helped a little. He blew into the flute again, harder than ever before, and a mysterious glowing energy began to gather around Ugo's hands.


	12. Chapter 12

**Previously:**

_"… Sorry, but we're going to need you a third time,_ Ugo-kun_!_!"_ Aladdin said anxiously, blowing into the flute. Once again, Ugo emerged to aid them in battle with Aladdin riding on his shoulders, blowing continuously into the flute. The slime king swiped Ugo and Aladdin with a blade, but Ugo ducked swiftly and countered with a powerful right hook that obliterated the top left of the slime king's torso._

_"Oh-hoho…!_! _Kick his ass, Ugo-kun!_!_!_"_ Faith cheered excitedly. She hoped Aladdin could keep it up._

_"Sweet!_!" _Alibaba exclaimed. "From here, we totally got this win in the bag!"_

_"You doing okay, Aladdin!_?_" Faith called. He still looked pretty exhausted, even though bananas were a great source of potassium._

_"I'm fine… We're going to get to the treasure, I promise_ you_!_!_" Aladdin said determinedly. "Even if it means using… our trump card!" He was still feeling really weak and hungry, but the banana had helped a little. He blew into the flute again, harder than ever before, and a mysterious glowing energy began to gather around Ugo's hands._

* * *

**Chapter 12: Aladdin's True Identity**

* * *

'Huh? What are those things?' Faith wondered as she watched the glowing energy swirl around the Ugo's hands. There were flickering flecks of light floating in the air, gathering around Aladdin and the Djinn. She had never seen this happen before. 'They look kind of like luminous two-winged butterflies… or stylized birds made of light…' The flapping little wings of light were absorbed by the Djinn, and then a red light formed around Ugo's hands. The Djinn sprang forward, raising his hands high as he charged fearlessly toward the slime king. Reaching his target, Ugo clasped his hands together and brought them crashing down on the slime king, unleashing all the built up energy around his hands with such an incredibly immense force that the slime king was instantly obliterated in a blinding explosion of heat and light. Alibaba and Faith had to shield their faces and brace themselves against a blast of hot air, and by the time they lowered their arms, it was already over. Ugo had returned to his flute, and all that was left of the slime king was a huge, deep, smoldering crater. The two teens stared at the scene of the aftermath in amazement.

"… _Damn_." Faith said, stunned. "That was… _freakin' A,_ man_!_!" She had no idea Ugo could do that!

"Yeah… That was awesome…" Alibaba agreed, peering over the edge of the crater. "He even cracked a huge hole in the ground. Even that slimy freak instantly turned to ash! How come you didn't tell me you had a bad ass move like that?" he asked excitedly. "If your timing was a little later, we would've been dead. And you were beating them back with your bare hands!" he said excitedly, glancing back and forth between Aladdin and Faith. "Dude, with the three of us together, there's no dungeon that we can't handle!"

"Hehe… Ugo-kun's strong, isn't he?" Aladdin said quietly with a weak smile and small laugh.

"Hey, are you all right?" Faith asked, frowning with concern.

"Yeah, you look pale…" said Alibaba as they both hurried over to check on him.

"Really? I guess I used too much power there… It's fine, though. If I eat a whole lot and rest a long time, I'll be okay!" Aladdin said as cheerfully as he could manage, in an attempt to reassure them. He didn't want his friends to worry.

"You sure?" Faith asked. She had never seen him this looking bad off before.

"I'm sure!" Aladdin said with a weak smile. And then Faith's stomach growled ferociously, echoing throughout the cavern.

"… Uh, now that you mention it… I guess I could use a little food an rest myself…" she said, sweat-dropping, as she placed a hand over her hungry stomach. Now that her adrenaline was no longer pumping, she felt like she needed a nap.

"I-I have an idea!" said Alibaba suddenly, removing the bundles he had strapped to his back. Inside one was a copious amount of food. Faith and Aladdin's eyes lit up at the sight, and the three of them decided to stop and have a lunch break to give Aladdin some time to recover his strength.

"If you want, there's still more!" Alibaba told Aladdin after they had been eating for a while, ready to dish him another serving for him.

"No, I'm fine, thanks…" Aladdin replied, stuffed.

"I won't say 'no' to another bite!" said Faith.

"You know," Alibaba said, annoyed that she was bossing him around again, "if you keep this up, you're gonna get fa—"

"German suplex_!_!" Faith shouted angrily as she grabbed Alibaba and bent over backwards, slamming him into the ground.

"Oww_!_!_?_ What was that for, you bi…" Alibaba started to demand incredulously with tears in his eyes while holding his aching head as he looked up to face Faith, only to find her face inches apart from his.

_"Want another?"_ She asked sharply with a dangerous look in her eye, looming ominously over him. Alibaba bit his lip.

"… No, ma'am." He answered in a small voice.

"… I'm just gonna take a lil nap…" Aladdin said, hoping Alibaba would still be in one piece when he woke up.

"That's cool, go right ahead!" said Faith, while Alibaba flinched.

'He's… He's gonna leave me all alone with this witch…_!_?' he thought nervously. In some ways she was the most dangerous thing in this dungeon! But Aladdin evidently really needed that nap, because the kid was dead asleep the moment his eyes closed.

"… I think I'll get some shut-eye too." Faith said after a moment, deciding to curl up next to Aladdin and regain some HP.

"…" Alibaba stared at the two of them while they slept, sweat-dropping. Well, he was kind of relieved Faith had decided to drop off too, but now he couldn't make a single noise without being worried about waking a sleeping dragon… 'Say, Aladdin… am I… pushing you too much?' he wondered worriedly as he watched his little friend sleep. 'I thought things were going pretty well… but that monster attack is giving me second thoughts…" Alibaba glanced around nervously and spotted what appeared to be the opening of a small cave.

Alibaba did his best to carefully move Aladdin and Faith into the shelter of the small cave without waking them; Aladdin because he needed his rest, and Faith because he didn't want to have to deal with her if she woke up. Then he set up camp. There wasn't any glowing moss in the little cave, so he lit a couple of lanterns, put up a tarp to shield them from the water dripping down from the ceiling, and covered Aladdin with an empty sack for a blanket. Faith could just deal as far as he was concerned.

'It should be fine for us to hang out in this cave for awhile…' Alibaba thought. 'After all, there's only one entrance. And if I stand guard, we might be safer.' He glanced back at the others. Aladdin's breathing seemed a little labored. 'His flute sure is troublesome… Does it take that much strength to use it?' He wondered, picking up the flute. 'I still have a lot of strength… maybe I can try blowing into it…' Alibaba started sweating nervously as he stared at the flute before finally working up the courage to give it a try. He took a deep breath, and blew. Nothing happened. Not even a single note. 'Heh…? There's no sound from this thing…' Alibaba thought, confused. 'But why does it come out when Aladdin blows into it?' "Hm?" he said a loud when he noticed something was engraved on the was an eight-pointed star carved into the flute, and around it was a circle of some kind of strange characters or text. 'What's this mark?' he wondered. 'It looks like writing, but what language? Can Aladdin read it? I wonder… just who is this kid…? And why is he out here without his parents?' Alibaba took his eyes off the flute for a moment to glance back at the boy. 'Come to think of it… I don't know anything about him, do I?' he realized. 'We've met so suddenly, and I don't think I've really said much about myself either. Not that I talk about my own parents and ambitions… I'm not really the sort of person to blabber on about myself. But… he was still wiling to help me out for no apparent reason. I guess… It wouldn't hurt to tell him a little… Right, I guess we'll have a little chat once he gets up… about everything and anything.' Alibaba decided as he began to nod off as well. 'Since its impossible to go dungeon-diving alone…'

"!" Alibaba awoke with a start. He glanced around, wondering how long he had been asleep. Aladdin and Faith looked like they were still out cold.

TMP. TMP. TMP. TMP.

'Dripping water?' Alibaba wondered when he heard more sounds. 'Oh crap_!_!_!_ No… It's following a pattern…" he decided he'd better investigate. Alibaba removed his jacket to cover the lantern and carefully followed the sound, crawling back through to the small opening of the cave. '_!_?' he gasped internally when he saw the source. It had been the sound of three people walking: two slaves, and a nobleman that Alibaba was able to recognize on sight. 'I… That guy… he's the evil boss of our town…_!_!_!_' Alibaba thought, startled. 'People have died trying to go diving…_!_!_!_ Yet a snob like him just waltzes in_!_? How on earth was he able to do it_!_?' Alibaba broke out in a cold sweat as he remembered how his old boss had warned him this man had been planning to make him his slave. '…No…' he thought, gritting his teeth, as he retreated to the back of the cave. 'We should be fine here. Thank God he didn't notice us. With Aladdin unable to move right now, it's really hard to run away…!' Alibaba uncovered the lantern so he could check on Aladdin. 'Good… He's looking a lot better…' He thought, relieved to see that Aladdin's breathing was nice and even and some color had returned to his face.

"Mmn… one more scoop of vanilla…" Faith mumbled in her sleep with a dreamy smile. Alibaba sweat-dropped. She looked so carefree over there that it was kind of pissing him off a little…

'Anyway… Once Aladdin is back in the game, we'll teach that guy a lesson!' he thought determinedly, just as a shadow fell over him from behind. "_!_!" Alibaba gasped, and spun around so fast in his attempt to see who or what had snuck up on him that he fell over. _"Whoah!_!_!_" he cried out in surprise and alarm as he stared up the shadow looming over him. _"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wha_… Eh?" he said, calming down a little once he realized he could see her face in the light of the lamp. It was that girl, the slave Aladdin had freed earlier… "Why are you here_!_?" he asked, taken aback.

"Why are you being so loud…_!_?" Faith demanded moodily as she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Is the dungeon on fire…? Is the slime…" She trailed off when she opened her eyes and saw the girl from earlier standing there, staring silently at them. Okay… "Um… Hello?" She said, venturing a small wave.

_JANGLE~_

"Oh, so you're there…" they heard a male voice remark. Alibaba and Faith looked over and saw the Chief and another slave (a big hulk of a man wearing a plain metal mask) climbing through the entrance to their little cave. "Thanks for the hard work." The chief finished with a smirk.

'Hmm…? Who's this joker?' Faith wondered with a frown. 'Why is that girl with him? Did she get caught again?'

"CRAAAAAAP_!_!_!_ He found us_!_!_!_" Alibaba screamed in his mind, rearing back in fear. 'This girl… She works for the boss_!_? What do I do_!_? We're totally caught!' he thought, starting to panic. 'Should we run_!_? He's probably diving for treasure just like us_!_! And if that's the case, he's here to get in our way_!_!' Cold swear dripped down the side of his face as he glanced between Faith and Aladdin and the boss and his slaves. 'Do we run or what_!_? Aladdin can't move, and there's three of them too! We can't fight and carry Aladdin at the same time, can we_!_?' He could tell from the look on her face that Faith had no idea how screwed they were. 'What do I do_!_?' he screamed internally as Faith opened her mouth to speak.

"Hey, y—_!_?" she started casually, when Alibaba suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth to silence her before she could say anything the evil boss might find rude or offensive. A vein throbbed on her forehead, and she was extremely tempted to bite the offending hand as Alibaba stepped in to take some preventative measures.

"Ahh~ Sir!" he said brightly with a sickeningly ingratiating smile. "We're saved_!_! You're the Chief, aren't you_!_? We're from the city too… but we got lost in this dungeon while playing! Worse yet, our lil bro's got a fever…!" he rattled away anxiously. 'These guys look really dangerous… and we can't run or hide.' Thought Alibaba. 'So the best thing to do is to try to make nice with them until we get out of here…!'

"…" Faith could tell by the look on the others' faces that they weren't buying his story for a minute. I mean, siblings? Come on, they didn't look a thing alike! And who 'accidentally' wanders into a place with a such famous reputation for being a death trap? 'But these guys do seem kind of dangerous…' She thought, eyeing the human hulk in the mask.

"W-Well, let's go…" Alibaba said nervously, starting to get to his feet. The Chief and his slaves swept straight past him and Faith without so much as a side glance. Their eyes were fixed on Aladdin. "_!_?" Alibaba said, surprised. 'They completely ignored us!'

'They totally blanked us…!' Faith thought with a scoff, a little offended.

"I've been waiting for you, magi…" the Chief said, kneeling respectfully before the sleeping Aladdin. "For ten lone years. And now, you're here before me…"

'Magi… What's that…?' Faith and Alibaba wondered. Why was this guy talking like he knew Aladdin?


	13. Chapter 13

**Previously:**

_"W-Well, let's go…" Alibaba said nervously, starting to get to his feet. The Chief and his slaves swept straight past him and Faith without so much as a side glance. Their eyes were fixed on Aladdin._ "_!_?" _Alibaba said, surprised. 'They completely ignored us!'_

_'They totally blanked us…!' Faith thought with a scoff, a little offended._

_"I've been waiting for you, magi…" the Chief said, kneeling respectfully before the sleeping Aladdin. "For ten lone years. And now, you're here before me…"_

_'Magi… What's that…?' Faith and Alibaba wondered. Why was this guy talking like he knew Aladdin?_

* * *

**Chapter 13: Tyrant**

* * *

"Hey… How are you feeling?" the Chief asked the sleeping boy. Of course, Aladdin was in no position to answer. He was in such a deep state of unconsciousness in that moment that wild horses couldn't have woken him. "Goltas!" the Chief called.

"…" Goltas, the masked hulk with a sword, came forward at his master's bidding, and immediately picked Aladdin up using his free hand and hoisted the boy over his shoulder. Without further ado, the Chief and his slaves began walking away with their friend.

"W-Wait_!_! What are you doing_?_!_?"_ Faith shouted incredulously, rushing after them. Alibaba immediately snapped out of his shock and followed. 'What's this bastard's deal_!_?' she wondered angrily. 'It's like we don't even exist_!_!'

"We said 'wait'_!_!" Alibaba said anxiously as they caught up to the other group and put themselves between them and the exit to block their path, forcing the Chief to take notice of them. "At least take us too!"

"Yeah! And when are you going to answer me_!_?" Faith demanded hotly. "I asked what you're doing here_!_!"

"…" The Chief and his slaves stood silent for a moment, as if speechless with surprise. "… I could ask the same thing of you." He told them. What did these dirty peons think they were doing?

"Huh_!_?" Alibaba and Faith said, taken aback.

"Why are you kiddos following me? What is it you need?"

"_!_?" said Alibaba, surprised.

"What do you mean, 'why'…?" Faith asked with a frown. "That's our friend you have there! Did you really think we were just going to let him get taken away by a bunch of strangers_!_?"

"Th-That's right… That guy came here with us_!_!" Alibaba said nervously, backing her up. "So I guess we're asking you… not to take him…"

"Huh? You say he's with you?" the Chief asked skeptically with a smile, laughing as if he had just heard a joke. "Listen up… You're just a couple of average Joes. I'll admit it's pretty brave of you to be in a place like this, and talking to me so familiarly… But you're not needed here, so get lost." He told them bluntly as he moved to step past them again.

"I said wait, dammit!" Alibaba snapped angrily with a vein throbbing on his head as Faith reached out and grabbed the Chief by the shoulder to stop him.

"You're the one here who isn't needed_!_!" she yelled.

The Chief stiffened and immediately slapped her hand away. There was a dangerous look in his eyes as he turned back to face them.

"You said… 'wait, dammit'…_!_? _I'm_ the one who 'isn't needed'…_!_?" He demanded incredulously with a cold voice. "Apparently, you don't know your place, as human trash… Kill them, Goltas."

"Kill…?" Alibaba asked numbly, paling with shock, as Goltas handed Aladdin over to Morgiana and stepped forth to carry out his master's cruel order.

'This is fucked up…!' Faith thought nervously as the masked hulk towered over them with his big-ass sword.

"Hey, wait, big guy…" Alibaba said anxiously, taking a step back. "I was just kidding…_!_!"

"I was dead serious_!_!" Faith stated bluntly with such a serious expression, that Alibaba nearly face-faulted.

"The heck's you're problem_!_? You really will be dead in a minute if you don't shut up_!_!" he shouted at her as Goltas swung his blade, aiming to take them both out with one blow.

"Who's gonna die_!_?_!_?" Faith shouted incredulously as she and Alibaba quickly dodged the attack.

"_!_?" Goltas' eyes widened in shock as they danced around him. Before he could even blink, Faith was delivering a blow to the back of his knee and twisting his other arm behind his back. With her other leg she kicked the blade free from his hand, effectively disarming him.

"_!_!_?"_ The Chief and Morgiana gasped and stared at them in amazement as Faith stood anchored there, holding Goltas in place, while Alibaba held his knife to the slave's throat to keep him from trying to escape.

"What the hell are you doing all of a sudden_!_?" Alibaba asked grimly. For a moment, the Chief just stood there, staring at them in stunned silence. And then, to their surprise, he started clapping.

"That's amazing! I thought of you two as nothing but a snot-nosed brat and a big-mouthed weakling of a girl… but you have some amazing moves_!_!" he praised them.

"…_!_?" Alibaba said nervously, a little taken aback and confused, while Faith's eye twitched in annoyance at his description of her. The Chief was… pleased?

"Which makes you worthless…" the Chief told his slave as he drew his sword and stabbed Goltas without warning. Alibaba and Faith's eyes widened in horror. They stood frozen shock as the Chief continued to stab his own slave over and over again. Faith immediately released her hold on Goltas, but he didn't move. He just stood there and took the abuse without uttering a sound. "Your job is to work for me… If you can't even do that much, you'll become an existence lower than trash." The chief continued coldly. "I guess this means I have to punish you… but how? Maybe like this? Or this?"

'What is his deal…' Alibaba wondered, dripping with cold sweat as the hand holding his dagger trembled, horrified by what he was seeing. 'What is he… He's not normal at all_!_!' he cried internally, stumbling as he fell backwards.

'This guy's a freakin' psychopath…_!_!' Faith screamed internally, so pale with shock that she almost looked blue. This guy was so dangerously insane that someone should have locked him up and thrown away the key! The look in the Chief's eyes while he calmly stabbed his own slave, another human, as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do frightened Faith far more than any monster could have. She began to shake and sweat bullets as terrifying memories from her past began to resurface, and images of the chaos after Katrina flashed through in her mind. The death of their mother… The looters breaking into their house… All of it came flooding back uninvited.

"Hey there… How about you two take his place?" said the Chief, pointing his sword at Alibaba and Faith. "Since you're so handy, I'll put you to work. You'll walk in front of me and make sure there are no traps. If you're willing to do that, I'll take you along. So, how about it?" he asked coldly with a dangerous look in his eye. "If you're going to remain in my sight… answer me!"

'What do I do_!_?' Alibaba cried internally. 'Run_!_? Or Do I fight this guy_!_? But… he's really bad news…_!_! Plus, he's got Aladdin captive… And Faith's miles away… What do I do, what can I do_!_?' Shaking nervously, Alibaba opened his mouth to speak. "Y… Yes! We'll do it…_!_!" He said determinedly, grabbing Faith's hand.

"!" Faith started out of her fifty-yard stare and looked at Alibaba as if she were seeing him for the first time. "… Yeah, we'll do it." she agreed, coming back to her senses. She clenched her fists. That's right, this wasn't New Orleans ten years ago. And she wasn't eight-years-old… She wasn't a helpless child who couldn't take care of herself anymore!

"Ahh, this is great!" said the Chief as the five of them walked along with Alibaba and Faith in the lead while Goltas carried Aladdin in rear. "I brought my slaves along with me and all, but then the exit went and disappeared! This sure is convenient!"

'Maybe for you…' Faith thought grudgingly as she trudged alongside Alibaba.

'Dammit… Aladdin is being held captive, so we don't have the luxury or the choice of running away…' Alibaba thought grimly, gritting his teeth.

'But hey, looking at it this way… If Aladdin is around, he can blow the flute when wakes up and get us out of this mess!' Faith thought with a gleam in her eye, trying to look on the bright side. She was seriously looking forward to that. All they had to do was bide their time til Aladdin was feeling better. The hard part would be playing along with the murderous psycho until then…

'I just have to figure out a way to get Aladdin away from them_!_!' Alibaba thought determinedly.

"What's with this flute…? It doesn't make any sound…" The Chief said, causing Alibaba and Faith to whip their heads around. Sure enough, the psycho now had the flute in his clutches. "We wouldn't want its owner to lose this while he's sleeping… So maybe I should hold onto it." The Chief said with a knowing smirk.

'Dammit, he's got the flute! He must have figured me out!' they both thought, gritting their teeth in frustration. Now what were they supposed to do_!_? As they walked, the naturally formed cavern soon gave way to a more structured tunnel that appeared to be man-made.

'What the? There are candlesticks here_!_?' Alibaba thought when the glowing moss was replaced by candles set in the brick-paved walls at even intervals.

'Wait, since when did the rocks underneath us become bricks?' Faith wondered when she noticed the ground beneath her feet had become much smoother. 'That only started just now, right?'

"Hmm, seems the dungeon… is changing?" the Chief thought aloud as the tunnel opened up to a larger chamber with a more neo-classical/Greco-Roman design, where they were greeted by the sight of what appeared to be an enormous stone dragon's mouth. The path before them, now lined with stone fangs, led straight into it. "Woow! Now this is what a dungeon should look like!" He said excitedly. "And I'm positive that the 'treasure chest' is waiting beyond this gate. Well, collecting treasure is a hobby of mine…" He stopped the group when they came to a large stone tablet mounted on a podium in front of the entrance to the dragon's mouth. "Well, well… What's written here, I wonder… It appears to bear an ancient language…" he mused aloud. "Hm? And this would have to be… the language of Torran…" Personally, Faith thought it looked a lot like Cuneiform.

"The language of Torran?" asked Alibaba, moving closer for a better look. "I hear there are a few tribes down south that use that language…" A bead of nervous sweat dripped down the side of his face when he realized the Chief was staring at him.

"Wow, you are amazing! I didn't think Plebeians could read such a complex language!" Said the Chief with a laugh. This little rascal~!

"Eh, I know a little I guess! Ahahah!" Alibaba laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hmm… My teacher showed me a little bit of language of Torran…" The Chief said thoughtfully as he took a closer look at the tablet. "Hmm… The translation of this should be… 'This path, down into the truth of the dragon…'…?"

'Hey now… our fearless leader is translating it completely wrong!' thought Alibaba, furrowing his brow. 'Wait, could it be… this guy can't read anything!' If that was the case, then it might be worth taking a risk… "To reach the truth, overcome the dragon's fangs… and find everything to behold at the dragon's tail. I think that's it, right?" He said aloud. The next thing Alibaba knew, the Chief's sword was cutting his arm.

"_!_!" Faith gasped in alarm as Alibaba fell to the floor in pain, clenching his teeth to keep from crying out. She quickly squatted down beside him to assess the damage. Fortunately it was just a superficial flesh wound.

"I was about to say that!" The Chief huffed, turning his back on them. "Plebian, don't get in my way again!"

'That's totally different from what you were saying a minute ago…_!_!'Faith thought angrily, sweat-dropping, as a vein throbbed on her head. Talk about mercurial…!

'Dammit, he's just doing whatever he wants!' thought Alibaba. 'But mark my words… I'm not just some nobody_!_!' With only a little help from Faith, he got back on his feet, and together they entered the mouth of the dragon with the rest of the group.

"… Sir, what's this?" Alibaba asked, paling slightly as they came to a stop upon reaching a section of tunnel where the roof was lined with steel spikes, a few of which still had skulls stuck on them.

'This is so a trap…' Faith thought, sweat-dropping.

"Haha, looks like we've come to a trap this time. It's your time to shine!" The Chief told him.

'A trap is it…' Alibaba thought, sweat-dropping. 'Geez, that ceiling could tear a guy apart! Those holes in the floor look kind of suspicious too…! I don't think I can just jump past 'em…' he thought nervously. 'Well… I can't get scared now…' he told himself, straightening up. 'This is a dungeon! There's no such thing as a road too far… or too dangerous… for treasure_!_!' he thought, taking off at a run. "_!_?" Alibaba flinched, nearly tripping in his surprise when he looked over and realized Faith was running with him. "W-What are you doing_!_?" he shouted at her.

"What do you think_!_? No way am I staying behind alone with that psycho_!_!" She whisper-yelled back seriously.

"What about Aladdin_!_?"

"He's safer than either of us right now_!_!"

"Whoa! They're fast! Are they training for the Olympics?" The Chief exclaimed in amazement, watching as they dodged the spikes shooting down from the ceiling with great speed and accuracy while they argued.

"If we can't plow through, we'll dodge_!_!" said Alibaba. "Whoa!" He exclaimed as he managed to miss another close call. "And then, we'll head for the clear areas…_!_!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Faith agreed, jumping out the way of another spike as they both slid home free, clearing the last of them. "Safe_!_!" She cheered with a grin.

"Oooh_!_! They got to the goal!" said the Chief excitedly.

"Wah… We did it!" Alibaba said, letting out a sigh of relief as he wiped some of the sweat from his brow. The two teens' eyes widened when they suddenly felt the ground beneath them give way. They had been sitting on a trap door!

'Shit…_!_!' Faith cursed mentally when she got a load of the spikes waiting for them at the bottom of the pit.

'What the… is this… how it ends for me?' Alibaba thought, shocked.

_"AAAHHHHHH…!_!" Faith screamed as she clung to him.

_"!_?_!_?" Alibaba cried with tears in his eyes as they plunged towards the spikes, unable to do anything to dodge them with Faith holding onto him so tightly.

_'Fuck this shit…!_!' Faith thought with a desperate anger, glaring at the impending spikes as they rushed up to meet them.

_SCREEEECH!_

"_…!_!" Alibaba gasped in shock and awe as the spikes directly beneath them were suddenly bent and flattened out while their fall was simultaneously softened by a burst of invisible force. For a moment, the two teens just lay there in shock, processing the fact that they were still alive. "Wh… What just happened…?" Alibaba asked, feeling a bit stunned and dazed.

"… I think my psychic powers just saved us…" Faith said, blinking.

"Psychic… what?" he asked dubiously.

"Psychic powers. Weird crap tends to happen around me from time to time, though it's usually just harmless stuff like a box of matches moving on its own, or a couple of broken light bulbs…" she explained matter-of-factly. That, and she would sometimes get this freaky superman type of emergency strength… It didn't usually happen unless she got really emotional or was under a lot of stress, but for some reason this stuff seemed to be happening a lot more often and a lot more easily since she came to this world… "Um, can you move so we can get out of here…?" She asked Alibaba, sweat-dropping. "This is starting to get kind of awkward…"

Meanwhile, the Chief and his slaves had simply walked around the trap door and were continuing to move forward down the path without even bothering to check and see if the two of them were still alive.

"Morgiana, how did you know where the trap door was?" the Chief asked.

"Because the smell of death was emanating from there."

"Oooh~ Well, even thought those two did a good job up until then, I knew that I could count on you guys more than them!" the Chief said with a smile, ruffling Morgiana's hair. "Shame we lost them both, though. We could have used an extra incase there are more traps up ahead!" Aladdin stirred on Goltas' shoulder. "Oh, you're awake?"

"…?" Aladdin opened his eyes and blinked. Where were Alibaba and Faith…?


	14. Chapter 14

**Previously:**

_Meanwhile, the Chief and his slaves had simply walked around the trap door and were continuing to move forward down the path without even bothering to check and see if the two of them were still alive._

_"Morgiana, how did you know where the trap door was?" the Chief asked._

_"Because the smell of death was emanating from there."_

_"Oooh~ Well, even thought those two did a good job up until then, I knew that I could count on you guys more than them!" the Chief said with a smile, ruffling Morgiana's hair. "Shame we lost them both, though. We could have used an extra incase there are more traps up ahead!" Aladdin stirred on Goltas' shoulder. "Oh, you're awake?"_

_"…?" Aladdin opened his eyes and blinked. Where were Alibaba and Faith…?_

* * *

**Chapter 14: Sabotage  
**

* * *

"Oh! So I fainted and you picked me up, did you? Um… S—B—B… Boss? Or sir?" Aladdin asked as they walked along through the tunnel.

"Boss! I'm the head of Qishan, Jamil. My job is to insure the city is safe for all of its citizens… So, in short, I save people!" The Chief explained with a brilliant shit-eating grin. "Considering my position, I couldn't very well ignore you when you needed my help, could I? As for your friends, I sent them ahead. No need to worry, though, I personally made sure that they were absolutely safe!"

"I… I see." Aladdin said.

"Anyway, we can look for them later." Said Jamil brightly. "For now, let's find the exit to this place."

"…" Aladdin glanced at Morgiana. He recognized her as the girl they had tried to help the other day. He wondered what she was doing there… Did she get caught again? The chains on the shackles around her ankles and the ankles of the big guy next to her clinked and clanked as they walked.

"Are you concerned with these two? They're my slaves." Jamil said with a smile. "The big guy is Goltas. He came from a nomadic tribe from the north… Even if he gets hurt, he doesn't make a sound, but he's extremely reliable. The small girl is Morgiana. She hails from the 'Continent of Darkness', where the descendants of a hunting tribe once dwelled! She's got a great sense of smell and fairly sturdy body. They were both super expensive, but really worth it!" he finished with a laugh.

"Oh…" Aladdin said quietly.

"Oh! How about you let me see your slave?" Jamil suggested. "You know, the big guy in the flute? I tried before, but your friends insisted I didn't…"

"Ugo-kun… isn't my slave, but my friend."

"I see!" Jamil said with a big smile. "Well, more importantly, we should continue down this dungeon… since we're close to the end…" he said, deciding to change the subject. "We managed to find the right path while you were asleep, so let's find the treasure together!"

" 'Kay… But, sir? Are Alibaba-kun and Faith… really going to meet us there?" Aladdin asked.

"Sure they are!" Jamil answered brightly with another smile.

"…" Aladdin stared up at the Chief, and narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't like this man. And he didn't trust him.

"Oh my…" Jamil said when they reached the next room at the end of the tunnel. "There are three entrances here, aren't there…? So does this mean the dragon has three esophagi?" That peon had said everything would be in the dragon's tail... 'What should I do…' the Chief wondered. 'The translation he gave us was right up to this point… Should I look for the correct path? Should I use Morgiana? Hm, I'm likely to need her nose to sniff out any corpses that could spell trouble later… And if I use Goltas, even if he finds something, he won't be able to tell me, since he can't talk.' It was quite the dilemma. 'Hmm… Ugh, no matter who I go with, it's useless… I guess there's no choice but to do this myself! If I take Goltas with me, he can deal with the traps ahead.' he decided darkly. "Everyone! I have deemed the path ahead of us as dangerous! Hence, as the leader, I'll go scout out the safest path! Women and children wait here for us!" he declared brightly. "So, take good care of him, Morgiana." He ordered as he passed her, lowering his voice so the magi wouldn't hear.

"Oh, I see, so that translation you gave earlier was bogus?" said Faith as she and Alibaba walked through the tunnel leading off from the pit of spikes that they had fallen in.

"Yeah, the real translation is… 'to reach the truth, you must struggle along the innards of the dragon first'." Alibaba explained. Ironically enough, it was only after they fell into the blade trap… that he understood the full meaning of the phrase 'the dragon's fangs'.

"Ohh!" Faith exclaimed as they reached the end of the tunnel. Alibaba's eyes widened slightly in awe. They were now in a great, wide and expansive chamber, and before them was a huge, ancient stone door that was framed by a pair of splendid columns and at least two stories tall. Engraved upon the door was a seal in the form of an eight-pointed star. "Now there's something you don't see everyday…"

"This door must lead to the 'truth'…!" Alibaba said excitedly.

"Yeah, this thing just screams 'special'… Let's go poke it with a stick!" she said with a grin.

"Hey, wait_!_! Shouldn't we do something about Aladdin first_!_? He's still with the others…" Alibaba reminded her, sweat-dropping.

"Ah! That's right_!_!" Faith exclaimed. How could she have forgotten that? "We'd better go get him, then! I don't want to leave him with that psycho any longer than we have to…"

"But how are we going to get back? Crawl up out of that trap…?" He asked dubiously. One misstep, and they could end up skewered…

"What? No!" Faith said with a frown, looking at him as though the answer should have been obvious. "Why go back, when we can go forward?" She said, pointing to a staircase located in one of the far corners that he had somehow managed to miss.

"How did you…?"

"One of the advantages of being lazy is that you develop a special talent for spotting the easy way out of difficult situations." She replied with a smirk.

So they carefully made their way up the stairs, wary of setting off any traps that might be lying in wait for them. Eventually they reached a higher level that opened up to a balcony with a stone railing. And they could hear someone talking on the level below them. They stuck their heads out though openings in the balcony to see what was going on.

"… There's something you should know…" Morgiana said lowly, talking to Aladdin as she stood with her back to him. "I'll tell you this, just so you understand… Do not belittle the leader, or else you'll end up like your friends."

"Wha? What's that?" Aladdin asked, looking a bit taken aback.

"Your friends, that boy and that girl… they… The leader left them in a trap…"

"…" Aladdin stared at her in disbelief, horrified. No way… Then, Alibaba and Faith were…?

"So your friends are…" Morgiana continued, biting her lip. "Your friends are…" Aladdin looked up as some fragments of stone dust fell from above. "They've been left to die_!_!" Morgiana confessed, lowering her head as she furrowed her brow with guilt and shame for having done so.

"…" Alibaba and Faith stared down at Aladdin from the balcony overhead, perfectly alive and well. Aladdin stared up at them, stunned.

"… Your friends… are now dead…" Morgiana informed him with regret, still completely unaware of what was going on behind her.

"Huh? But, um… really?" Aladdin asked, sweat-dropping, as he glanced between her and his friends. Alibaba seemed a little nervous and sweaty, and Faith looked kind of pale… but other than that they seemed totally fine.

"They didn't know their place, so the leader abandoned them there on a whim…!" Morgiana continued. "You're the same… if you don't watch out and learn your place… You'll diffh!" She was started when something was thrown over her head. It was the blanket Aladdin had been sitting on. "_!_?" She gasped as she whipped her head around. "Huh_!_? He's gone!" she cried in alarm.

"I don't think so, onee-san!" Aladdin called down to her.

"Ah…_!_?_!_" She gasped when she looked up and saw him floating in the air on his magic turban with his two supposedly dead friends.

"Sorry about this, but we need to get going…! Hopefully we'll meet again… so I can cut those invisible chains… and, together, we can travel to that place of the beautiful sun_!_!" he said earnestly.

"I already told you…" Morgiana said darkly, digging her heel into the brick floor.

_CRACK_.

"What the life of a slave is…"

_CRRAACK._

"But you still act ignorant…_!_!"

_CRRAAACK._

"Whoa now…_!_!" Alibaba cried out in surprise and alarm when the floor shattered completely as she leaped forward.

"Oh shit_!_!" Faith exclaimed as Morgiana shot up the wall, digging her heels into the wall with so force much that the wall buckled and cracked beneath her feet as she ran straight at them. This girl was like Jet Li on steroids_!_!

"Hiiiiii_!_!" Alibaba squealed nervously as Morgiana closed in on them. "Go higher, Aladdin_!_!"

"Wait_!_!_!_" Morgiana roared fiercely, reaching for them with a desperate leap.

"Yeah right_!_!_!_" Faith retorted, pulling back the corner of the magic turban just enough to prevent her from grabbing it.

"Dammit!" Morgiana cursed in frustration when her fist clenched only air, sweating nervously as she thought about having to tell her twisted master about their escape.

"Waaah_!_! Faith_!_! Alibaba-kun_!_! You're still alive_!_! How did you do it! Uh… you're kind of bleeding, Alibaba-kun…" Aladdin cried excitedly as they ran, whacking his friends in the side to make sure they were real.

"Ahaha… Yeah, that really hurts, so don't touch me, mkay?" Alibaba replied a bit nervously, still a bit pale from the shock of Morgiana's insane blitz.

"Yeah, I'm a little too tired to stay nice if you keep that up, 'cause I'm still kind of sore from the fall…" Faith added, sweat-dropping. Using her psychic powers was exhausting.

"Fall…?" Aladdin asked.

"I'll explain everything later!" said Alibaba. "C'mon! We found something awesome!" And with that Alibaba and Faith lead Aladdin back to the impressively humongous door that they had discovered earlier.

"_!_!_?"_ Aladdin gasped when he saw it. "What's this door_!_?" He asked excitedly. It was huge!

"We found it by following a secret passageway after falling through a trap." Faith explained.

"I think this is the door to the 'truth', but it doesn't look like there's any way to open it." Alibaba added.

"Yeah, there aren't any knobs on the door, so there's no way we can grip it… Maybe it's a push door?" said Faith, stepping forward to give it a try. "Ungh… Unnngh…_!_!" she grunted, pushing with all her might. The door refused to budge.

"Yeah, I don't think that's it…" Alibaba said, sweat-dropping. 'The mark on the door… isn't it similar to the one on Aladdin's flute?' he thought looking at it again.

"… I know what to do." Aladdin said abruptly.

"Eh?" Faith said, pausing in her efforts to force it open. "Really_!_?"

"Sweet!" Alibaba said excitedly.

"It's the same as when Ugo-kun and I were in the Room of Fortitude… The door there was the same as this… I remember what I had to do to open it back then…" Aladdin said as he walked up and placed his hands on the door. "Let's see… I think the words were… umm…'

'Ah… It's those little birds of light again…!' Faith and Alibaba thought as the flittering lights began to gather around Aladdin's hands as he concentrated.

"Oopeen… Sesame…_!_!" Aladdin commanded the great doors.

'Wha-Wait, seriously…_!_?_!_?' Faith thought, watching in amazement as the huge door split in two and swung wide open with a huge gust of wind and dust.

_"Whoa!_!" Alibaba exclaimed, staring in awe. "The door's opening on its own…_!_?_!_?"

"Uh, duh! It's a _magic_ door, ya know!" said Faith with a roll of her eyes. What else did he think was going to happen? Although, it might've been cool if it had exploded or something…

'Awesome… This is just awesome… This is it… I can feel the 'treasure box' from here…_!_!' Alibaba thought excitedly, way too psyched to be bothered by her sarcasm. 'Finally, I'll have my own mountain of riches_!_! Gold, diamonds, emeralds_!_! They're all waiting for me…_!_! I'm coming, my beautiful, beautiful treasures_!_!" he thought with sparkling eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

**Previously:**

_"Oopeen… Sesame…!_!_" Aladdin commanded the great doors._

_'Wha-Wait, seriously…!_?_!_?' _Faith thought, watching in amazement as the huge door split in two and swung wide open with a huge gust of wind and dust._

_"Whoa!_!"_ Alibaba exclaimed, staring in awe. "The door's opening on its own…!_?_!_?"

_"Uh, duh! It's a magic door, ya know!" said Faith with a roll of her eyes. What else did he think was going to happen? Although, it might've been cool if it had exploded or something…_

_'Awesome… This is just awesome… This is it… I can feel the 'treasure box' from here…!_!' _Alibaba thought excitedly, way too psyched to be bothered by her sarcasm. 'Finally, I'll have my own mountain of riches!_! _Gold, diamonds, emeralds!_! _They're all waiting for me…!_! _I'm coming, my beautiful, beautiful treasures!_!"_ he thought with sparkling eyes._

* * *

**Chapter 15: Necropolis**

* * *

The three of them coughed from the dust as they passed through the gigantic doorway.

"What's this… It's all just open space…" Alibaba said disappointedly. "Is this the wrong…"

"Hey, what's that?" Faith asked, pointing to a shadow that was becoming visible in the cloud ahead as the dust began to settle.

"Wha? Oh, good job! It looks like you found something…" Alibaba said, taking a step forward. "…!" He was surprised when Faith suddenly reached out and pulled him back by the collar of his shirt. He coughed, nearly choking. "Wh-What was that for_!_?" he asked incredulously.

"Uh, Alibaba-kun…" Aladdin said, pointing to the space where he had been about to step, which was actually over the edge of whatever they were standing on. A bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of his face. That would have been a really long fall…

"Wow… You saved me!" He said as he looked up at Faith, impressed.

"Yeah, how bout that? But no need to thank me." Faith said modestly. "Actually, I just didn't want you to beat me to the treasure." Alibaba flinched in shock as an angry vein popped on his forehead. This little…_!_! "But more importantly… check out this view_!_!" She said excitedly, calling their attention to the rest of the incredible scene before them.

"WHOOOOOAA_!_!" Alibaba exclaimed as he stood up and took another look alongside Aladdin. It turned out they were standing on the rooftop of one of many buildings in some kind of vast underground city! "Awesome… It doesn't look like there are any treasures here, but we've stumbled on the resting place of an ancient society…!"

"Hope would totally love seeing this!" Faith said with a grin. "I _so_ feel like Indiana Jones right now_!_!"

"Who?" Aladdin asked.

"A kick-ass archaeologist." She answered a smirk.

"Never heard of him." Said Alibaba.

"Oh, you poor deprived soul…" Faith said, giving him a look of such extreme pity that it actually pissed him off.

"Anyway, Aladdin, let's go have a look!" Alibaba said, deciding getting even wasn't worth the damage she would undoubtedly inflict upon him in return. "There have got to be treasures in that city that we can't see from here!"

"Oh! Let's make that huge and overly conspicuous tower over there our first stop!" said Faith excitedly, deciding to let the fact that he was trying to ignore her again slide for now.

" 'Kay!" Aladdin said excitedly.

"But maaaan, this place is awesome." Said Alibaba as they walked through the ancient and deserted streets. "Who would have thought a city like this would exist here…"

"This dungeon is definitely 'bigger on the inside'…" said Faith with a Cheshire cat grin as she looked around. Talk about best quest ever_!_! Eat your heart out, Wow!

"Yeah." Aladdin agreed.

"…" They fell silent as they continued walking.

"Heheheh… to think I'm finally here…" Alibaba laughed quietly to himself.

"Huh? What's up, Alibaba-kun?" Aladdin asked.

"Yeah, what's with that creepy grin on your face?" Faith asked. He looked like he was plotting something nefarious over there.

"We should totally call this place 'Alibaba Park'!" Alibaba said excitedly with a big goofy smile on his face. "After all, I'm the guy who discovered this city, right? Wait, no. Since the three of us found this place, it should be called 'Aladdin and Alibaba and Faith Park'!"

"That's hella long… How 'bout we shorten it to 'Faibabaddin Park'?" Faith suggested wryly.

"Alright! Then I'll be mayor, and you'll be my vice-mayor_!_!" Alibaba told Aladdin, pumping his fists in the air.

"Yaay! That's great!" cheered Aladdin, imitating the gesture.

"And I'll be queen!" said Faith with a sparkling shit-eating grin.

"Why would there be a queen_!_? This is a city, so the highest rank should be mayor!" said Alibaba with a frown.

"Of course there's a queen!" huffed Faith. "And I'm the oldest, so what I say goes. I'm pulling rank!"

"What_!_? No, you're not!"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen." Alibaba answered proudly.

"Hah! Eighteen." Faith said with a grin. "I totally win."

"But…_!_!" Alibaba started to protest, when Aladdin reached up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Alibaba-kun, sometimes it's better to just let difficult people think they've won… It makes life ten times easier." The younger boy advised him with a sage smile, lowering his voice so she wouldn't hear.

'The youngest one here is the most mature…_!_!' Alibaba thought, impressed with how well Aladdin already knew how to handle older girls.

"Huh? What are you guys whispering about back there…?" Faith asked, glancing back at them with a slight frown.

"Nothing!" Alibaba said a bit too quickly for her liking.

"…" Faith stared at him for a moment before giving him a quick slap.

"Oww_!_! What was that for_!_?" Alibaba asked incredulously.

"For talking about me behind my back." She replied bluntly as she started walking again. She didn't know what was said, but she knew she probably wouldn't like it if she did know, she might as well get her lick in now.

"Why am I the only one getting hit…_!_?" he muttered darkly under his breath as he trudged along at the back with veins throbbing on his forehead. Aladdin smiled wryly and sweat-dropped. Poor Alibaba… He just couldn't win, could he?

"…" They walked along in silence some more until Alibaba spoke again.

"Oh, yeah, Aladdin… don't worry about your flute, It's my fault that slimy bastard stole it…" he said regretfully.

"Yep, definitely your fault." Faith agreed with a straight face.

"You…_!_! You were there too, you know_!_!" Alibaba reminded her with a vein throbbing on his forehead. "What's your problem_!_? Are you trying to pick a fight with me_!_?"

"Maybe. I do that sometimes when I'm bored..."

"…" Aladdin and Alibaba stared at her.

"We're in an ancient, never before seen underground city, inside of a dungeon full of slime monsters, that we had to almost get killed by a trap to find, with the most powerful and cruelest man in Qishan and his freakishly strong slaves on our tail, and you're _bored!_?_!_?" Alibaba exclaimed incredulously. Seriously, what was wrong with this girl_!_?

"It's not like I want to be bored! It just happens." Faith said with a shrug. She blamed her ADD.

"A-Anyway…" Alibaba said, suddenly feeling emotionally exhausted with the strange girl. "Don't sweat it buddy… I'm definitely going to get it back!" He promised Aladdin seriously. "It'll be okay, this city's gotta have a 'treasure chest' somewhere… and I'm sure in that chest is a 'Djinn vessel'…! And where there's a vessel, there's a Djinn_!_!"

"Yeah, then we can get this dungeon's Djinn to help us get back Ugo-kun and his flute!" said Faith.

"Yeah! Definitely!" Aladdin said with a smile.

'Dude… I'm so nervous I feel like I'll fall apart in this silent atmosphere… If I stop talking, I'm sure to get even more anxious…' Alibaba thought when they started to fall into silence again. "But seriously, I wonder what all of this is?" he said aloud. "What era did this actually come from? I haven't heard of this before… a city like this sleeping in a dungeon."

"Maybe… it was built by aliens…_!_!" Faith said dramatically, wishing she had a flashlight to shine on her face. Once again, the boys stared at her as if they might be concerned for her sanity. "Just a thought."

"… It's a necropolis…" Aladdin said after a moment.

"Huh?" said Alibaba.

"A 'city of the dead'…? You mean like a cemetery?" Faith asked.

"A long time ago, Ugo-kun told me all about it. He said that outside the 'Room of Fortitude' there are ghost civilizations known as necropolis." Aladdin explained.

"So that's what it is…" said Faith thoughtfully, glancing around. That was a pretty creepy thought, actually… If there used to be people here, then what happened to all of them?

"Hey, wait a minute…" said Alibaba. "You've mentioned that 'Room of Fortitude' before… What is it? Is it like a dungeon? Since the doors are the same, after all…"

"Well… I really don't know." said Aladdin. "It was much more confined in there… and Ugo-kun would always tell me that we could never leave."

"Hmm… On that note, I had no idea that the big dude could talk."

"I've never heard him, either." Said Faith.

"He can!" Aladdin insisted excitedly. "Ugo-kun's body is the only part of him that can escape, but… but he has a face and everything. He's really handsome too!"

"Heh, bragging are we?" teased Alibaba.

"Yeah! I'm so proud that he's my friend!" Aladdin gushed, beaming with pride.

"I see… you guys did say you guys were buddies…"

"Hmm… He does seem like he'd be a stud, with all those muscles and everything…" Faith said with an almost dreamy expression on her face while she tried picturing Ugo with one.

"I thought you liked girls?" said Alibaba, furrowing his brow slightly in confusion.

"Oh, I'll go for anyone!" she admitted frankly. "Boy or girl, man or woman… I don't discriminate. None of that really matters to me as long as they're attractive."

"I-I see…" he said, sweat-dropping. "Hey, after we get out of this dungeon, do you think you could introduce me to him?" he asked Aladdin. "I'd like to know more about you too!"

"Sure! That's fine!" Aladdin agreed with a smile.

"Don't you want to know more about me too?" Faith asked.

"No thanks… The more I get to know you, the less I want to!" Alibaba deadpanned.

"Mandible claw_!_!" Faith shouted, quickly jabbing her middle and ring fingers into his mouth with the thumb of the same hand placed under his jaw, stabbing him in the soft tissue on the bottom of the inside of his mouth as she applied downward pressure by her middle and ring fingers while her thumb forced his jaw upwards.

"_!_?_!_!_!_?_"_ Alibaba let out a strangled cry of pain, cradling his poor aching mouth while she calmly walked away.

'Alibaba-kun… He never learns…' Aladdin thought with an awkward smile, sweat-dropping.

"We made it! The honor's all yours, Aladdin!" Faith said brightly when they reached the door of the tower.

'So our dungeon diving expedition has come to an end…' Alibaba thought, watching as Aladdin stepped forward and opened the door for them. 'I've bet everything on finding a treasure in this dungeon! And now, with my own eyes, I'll bear witness to it_!_!' The three of them coughed as the dust cleared. "Wh-What the… What's this?" he asked as they stared into the room, stunned. It was not at all what they had expected. Instead of precious metals and gems, they had found an entire room full of stone items. "It's not really a 'treasure chest'… but a 'storage' room?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Previously:**

_"No thanks… The more I get to know you, the less I want to!" Alibaba deadpanned._

_"Mandible claw!" Faith shouted, quickly jabbing her middle and ring fingers into his mouth with the thumb of the same hand placed under his jaw, stabbing him in the soft tissue on the bottom of the inside of his mouth as she applied downward pressure by her middle and ring fingers while her thumb forced his jaw upwards._

"_!_?_!_!_!_?_"_ _Alibaba let out a strangled cry of pain, cradling his poor aching mouth while she calmly walked away._

_'Alibaba-kun… He never learns…' Aladdin thought with an awkward smile, sweat-dropping._

_"We made it! The honor's all yours, Aladdin!" Faith said brightly when they reached the door of the tower._

_'So our dungeon diving expedition has come to an end…' Alibaba thought, watching as Aladdin stepped forward and opened the door for them. 'I've bet everything on finding a treasure in this dungeon! And now, with my own eyes, I'll bear witness to it!' The three of them coughed as the dust cleared. "Wh-What the… What's this?" he asked as they stared into the room, stunned. It was not at all what they had expected. Instead of precious metals and gems, they had found an entire room full of stone items. "It's not really a 'treasure chest'… but a 'storage' room?"_

* * *

**Chapter 16: Place That Strains Life**

* * *

"Well, that was anticlimactic…" said Faith with a pout while they searched the room, clearly disappointed.

"Hmm… Hey, Aladdin, you find anything?" Alibaba asked.

"Nope, nothing. Just lots of rocks and trinkets." Aladdin answered.

"My grandma's junk room has more bling than this." Faith quipped.

"Yeah… seems like this place isn't a 'treasure chest' after all." Alibaba said with a sigh. "Eh, no helpin' it. There are a lot of buildings out there… so let's go outside and try our luck somewhere else."

"Sounds like a plan." Said Faith, dropping the trinket in her hand like the rock that it was. Maybe they could find a bank to knock over or something… She could feel the urge to kick a door in coming on.

"'Kay." Aladdin agreed, setting the vase in his hands down with a little more care as they moved to exit the tower. But as they stepped up to the doorway, they found their path blocked.

"WAAAAAAAAH_!_!" Alibaba and Faith yelled in alarm and surprise when they realized the huge shadowy figure towering over them was none other than Goltas.

"D? Dammit! It's on, bastard_!_!" Alibaba shouted nervously, reaching for his dagger.

"You want a piece of me, tough guy_!_?" Faith challenged the hulk, making fists.

"Wait, you guys!" Aladdin said anxiously. "He's already…" Then, almost right on cue, Goltas fell forward, collapsing to the ground. "This is terrible…" Aladdin said as they kneeled down to check on him. The big guy was covered in wounds. "He's still got burns from before…"

'But more importantly… he's go a huge slash on the side of his back_!_!' Alibaba thought, gritting his teeth. That could only mean one thing…

"Hey," said Faith, "if he's here, then the others…"

"Aladdin_!_!" Alibaba shouted suddenly when he saw danger closing in.

"_!_?" Faith gasped, jumping in front of the boy in an attempt to block the blur flying at him. Alibaba watched with wide eyes, shocked, as she was instantly pushed back as easily as if the attacker were merely swatting a fly, sending her crashing into Aladdin, taking them both out in one go.

"Bastards…_!_!" Alibaba cursed angrily as beads of sweat formed on his brow, taking up a defensive stance with his dagger as he faced Morgiana and her master.

"Peons, eh… Who do you think you're talking to…" said Jamil with his head lowered and sword in hand.

"It doesn't matter if you're the boss and I'm the servant anymore! You damn thief… First off, give me back Aladdin's flute_!_! We can talk things over after that_!_!" Alibaba said boldly.

"… A p? peon… talks to me… _Don't make me laugh… you weak… vulgar… fool…" _Jamil muttered darkly with his head still lowered._ "You're no more than a waste of air, piece of trash…"_

'What's his deal… He's acting weird…' Alibaba thought. He cast a sideway glance to check on his friends. 'Aladdin and Faith are… flying into the distance… Whoa!' he thought, surprised to see that they were still airborne. He flinched in surprise when Morgiana suddenly took off after them. "Wait a damn minute…" He shouted, moving to stop her, but Jamil wouldn't let him.

_SLASH!_

The Chief swiped his sword at Alibaba. Alibaba jumped back just in time to avoid being cut.

"I've got a list of grievances to administer punishment for…" Jamil told him. "… Punishment?" asked Alibaba nervously.

"Yes_!_!" Jamil shouted, finally raising his head to reveal just how frazzled he really was. The Chief's hair was disheveled. His eyes were wide and wild. And his face was pale with fear and dripping with cold sweat. "What were those monsters_!_?" he cried. "Why were they here… Why did this happen… What did I do to deserve this_!_? It's all… your fault_!_!_!_!" he yelled at Alibaba, panting heavily as he glared at the teen with tears in his eyes.

"…_!_?" said Alibaba, taken aback. 'Geez… Whaaat the heck! This guy… I can't believe I used to be afraid of this guy.' He thought seeing the big bad boss in such wretched state. "I can see you wetting your pants from here, fearless leader-san… But… I've been saying this all along… This is a 'dungeon'. Status, lineage, and your name don't matter one bit. This is a place where you put everything, including your life, on the line! A place that strains life_!_! If you're scared… go cry a river in your damn house, little man!" Alibaba finished coolly, aiming his sword at him as he took up a starting fencing position. Jamil's eyes widened as something inside of him snapped.

"Enough… Shut up…_!_!_!_" he yelled furiously. "Peons like you… never make a lick of sense_!_!" Jamil raised his sword and pointed it at Alibaba. 'Fool… Do you think you can beat someone who's spent years learning swordplay from the royal palace?' A peon with a little knife like yours… isn't even worthy of being called an opponent.' He thought disdainfully, looking down his nose at the boy. 'Yes…! I'm stronger than him! I've been cultivated to be different than a mere peon_!_! It wouldn't be any fun to kill him in one blow… I want to watch him suffer, have him try and escape, only to find he can't… I'll cut him away one part at a time! Foolish plebeian… how about I carve my name into your flesh until you die_!_?' "First is… your leg_!_!_!_" he shouted, lunging forward to attack. Alibaba dodged his blade with ease. "Hahah… Nice work getting lucky just now… I'll say, I'm impressed, but… How will you deal with this?" Jamil asked, thrusting his sword forward in another attack. His eyes widened in shock as, once again, Alibaba dodged effortlessly. "Whaaaat_!_?"

"Is that all? Boss?" Alibaba asked with a smirk.

"Damn_!_!" Jamil cursed. A vein popped on his forehead as he went in for the kill again, but Alibaba skillfully parried the attack with his shorter blade. No matter how hard he tried, whatever method he used to attack, it was useless. He couldn't land a single blow on Alibaba. "Why is it… Why… Why can't I hit you_!_?" he demanded hotly in frustration.

"You know… your side is open." Alibaba told him, holding his short blade pressed against the Chief's ribs. Jamil's eyes widened in fear, and his face went deathly pale as Alibaba pulled back his knife, drawing blood, as he sliced through his coat.

"Waaah…_!_!" Jamil screamed, clutching his side.

"Hey now… your neck, shoulder, elbow…" Alibaba said as he continued the fight, listing all of the places the Chief was leaving himself open. All of the places he could strike next.

"I can't keep up_!_! My teacher never taught me this!" Jamil cried anxiously. "_!_!_!"_ He gasped as Alibaba went for the kill, freezing with his knife under the Chief's chin with just enough pressure behind it to prick the skin.

"I'll give you an 'F' for failure… Little man!" said Alibaba with a smirk.

'J-Just what is this guy_!_?' Jamil wondered, trembling with fear. 'I've been learning sword play for such a long time… This is just like when my teacher warned be about the danger… But I did practice my swordplay… Yet I can't beat him! No, this isn't practice… this is… the real deal…! Royal swordplay_!_! Why does a peon know swordplay? And it's not just the way he fights, but he was also able to read the language of Torran… Why? Why? What is he…! _What is heee!_?'

'What is she_!_? How can this person… still stand_!_?' Morgiana wondered as she faced Faith, who had somehow managed to protect Aladdin during their fall. Faith had ended up bearing the larger brunt of the attack, and yet there she was, standing up. Morgiana had never seen anyone recover so quickly from one of her attacks before. She watched as Faith wiped the corner of her mouth and spit out some blood.

"That freakin' hurt_!_!" Faith scowled at the freakishly strong girl, breathing heavily and holding her side as she straightened up. "If I have internal bleeding… I'm gonna be really… pissed_!_!" She shouted angrily, lunging forward with a straight jab aimed at Morgiana's head. When Morgiana ducked to avoid it, Faith smirked and hit her with a roundhouse kick that was strong enough to send the other girl sliding back.

'How can she still fight…_!_?' Morgiana wondered with wide eyes.

"How did I lose to you…_!_?" Jamil asked Alibaba as he fell to the floor, staring up at the boy in shock.

'Pheww… Somehow, I've gotten things under control here… All that's left is to save Aladdin and Faith…' Alibaba thought, exhaling a small sigh of relief, as he glanced around the room, looking for Morgiana. 'That girl is… sweet, she's all the way over there. I'm in the clear!' "All right, buddy_!_!" he said sternly, looming over Jamil with his knife in hand. "You don't make any funny moves, and I won't have a reason to take your life. Just hand over Aladdin's flute and we're square, got it?"

"Ngh… Morgiana_!_! Come and save me, now_!_!" Jamil yelled desperately.

"That ain't happening." Alibaba told him, unaware that she was already behind him.

"Duck, Alibaba…_!_!" Faith yelled from across the room as she fell to her knees, wincing in pain. She was just in time to warn him as Morgiana aimed a kick at his head.

"_!_?" Alibaba gasped in alarm as her foot missed his head by a hair. "Wha… ah…_!_!" he cried as he stumbled away from her, startled. 'When'd she get here_!_? No way… she ran all the way over from over there…_!_? In no time flat?' he thought warily. 'Sh-She's… a monster_!_! A freakishly strong monster!' Jamil grinned when he saw how pale and nervous Alibaba had become.

"Aww, what's the matter, scared?" he taunted Alibaba, picking himself back up. "I thought you were ready for anything."

"…" Alibaba only kept his head lowered for a second longer before lifting it again to flash the Chief a big shit-eating grin.

"?" Jamil was confused. Why did this peon still look so cocky?

"And here I thought you were prepared for anything. I guess I thought wrong, huh, boss?" said Alibaba with a shrug. "So…! Morgiana! Come with me!" he said confidently, offering his hand to the slave.

"_!_?" said Jamil with a dubious expression on his face, taken aback.

"Think about it, this is your chance!" Alibaba told her. "This is a dungeon. If you run away from the boss here, no one would have to know about it! You don't have to be scared of a guy like him! So fight with me… fight for your freedom!" Morgiana was silent.

"… Hey… Morgiana…" Jamil said, beginning to feel nervous when she didn't answer right away. "Morgiana?"

"…" Morgiana took a step forward, leaving her master's side. Jamil paled as he watched her approach Alibaba, raising her hand to take his.

"I guess this is… okay, then?" Alibaba said, glad that she had decided to accept. "Guh?" he said, surprised when she suddenly pulled him towards her.

_WHAM!_!_ CRASH!_

In one fluid motion, Morgiana swung Alibaba around, smashing him into the pillar next to her so hard that it cracked the stone. Alibaba's eyes were wide with shock and pain as he crumpled onto the floor, too stunned and hurt to move.

"Ah… Wh-Why…?" he managed to choke out. He didn't understand. Jamil's nervous expression twisted into an evil grin.

"Hahahah… You're such a good little girl, Morgiana…" he laughed, giving her a pat on the head, as he strolled over to Alibaba. "You played him like a string for me, didn't you_!_? Hahaha, that's it, right_!_?" He kicked Alibaba just as he was about to try to get up again. Once he started, he didn't stop. "You trash! Plebeian! Plebeian! Plebeian_!_! Do you think you can 'use' her like I do_!_? What gives you the right to order my slave…! _Huuuh_?" He shouted furiously. "'Why', you ask? You mean you don't understand it… Let me teach you how to use a slave." He said, breathing heavily, as he finally stopped kicking. "Morgiana… Come here and kill this plebeian." He ordered.

"…" Morgiana's eyes widened slightly. A bead of sweat slid down the side of her face as her master placed his sword in her hands with a smile on his face.

Jamil is a leader who surpasses others. Not in swordplay or education, but in the abuse he heaps upon his slaves. Day after day, Jamil would use abuse as his doctrine… which would eventually cause a big change to happen within Morgiana. She would never resist him. And that's because…

"Now, go ahead and kill him for me!" Jamil urged her to get a move on.

"…" Morgiana hesitated.

_"Do it now."_ He commanded sternly.

All those tragic memories he had planted in her, now control… her every move!

Morgiana raised the sword above her head.

"Kill, kill! Kill! Kill him_!_!"

Morgiana grit her teeth and brought the sword down, even as her mind was screaming against the idea.

"Alibabaaaa_!_!" Faith yelled, stumbling and falling in a vein attempt to reach him.

FSSH!

Morgiana's eyes widened when she realized the blade of the sword had suddenly disappeared. She gasped, whipping her head around to look back at Aladdin, who was now standing in front of Faith, holding a stone cane with wings.

"It's all right, Faith… I'll take care of the rest." He said calmly. He could see how exhausted she was. She could barely even move.

"Aladdin…" she said, staring in amazement at all the little bird-shaped lights fluttering around him. "What just…?" Did he do that? When did he wake up? … And where did he get that stick?

"Don't worry." He told her as he walked away to check on Alibaba. "It'll all be over soon…"

'What the… did he do something to break the sword blade from over there?' Jamil wondered, furrowing his brow, as he watched the boy walk by.

"Alibaba-kun… are you okay?" Aladdin asked, kneeling down beside him.

"Y—Yeah… But you'd better be careful…" Alibaba said weakly. "That girl… she's trouble…"

"I see… you're still awake, huh?" Jamil said aloud. Aladdin stood up and turned to face him.

"Hand over my flute." He said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Jamil replied. "I mean, after all, that dirty little urchin dragged me around a fair bit. This is me we're talking about! So I can't possibly give it back until reach the goal, okay?"

"My flute. Hand it over." Aladdin repeated, holding out his hand.

"If you want it so bad, take it by force." Jamil told him, crossing his arms. "Without the flute you can't do anything. Which means that you're useless to me too."

"…" Aladdin lowered his hand and raised the stone staff._ "Hand it over."_ He said sternly.

'Huh…? That's just a stone cane, isn't it?' Alibaba thought, confused. Why was he acting like it was some kind of weapon?

'Ah… there it is…!' Faith thought, watching as light gathered around Aladdin and his staff. "_!_!" She gasped in surprise when it suddenly flared up, shining bigger and brighter than before. It looked really similar to what Ugo did before when he fought the slime king.

'Ah…_!_! They're those things…! From back then_!_?' Alibaba thought, coming to the same conclusion.

"…!" Jamil gasped. They all stared in awe as Aladdin, surrounded by a blazing swarm of fluttering lights, raised the staff above his head. "Amazing… It's just my teacher said…_!_! It has to be him…_!_!" he exclaimed excitedly as Aladdin charged. Morgiana immediately rushed to intercept him. Aladdin swung his staff, and Morgiana countered with a fierce kick, stopping the staff with the metal shackle around her ankle.

"_!_?" She gasped when a huge burst of light fired from the staff, shooting straight past her. Her eyes widened as it exploded violently against the wall behind her.

'D-_Damn_…_!_!' thought Faith as her jaw dropped in astonishment.

"It has to be him…_!_!" Jamil exclaimed with an almost maniacal look in his eyes. "A user of the grand world creation magic…_!_! _The magi!_!_!"_


	17. Chapter 17

**Previously:**

_'Ah… there it is…!' Faith thought, watching as light gathered around Aladdin and his staff._ "_!_!" _ She gasped in surprise when it suddenly flared up, shining bigger and brighter than before. It looked really similar to what Ugo did before when he fought the slime king._

'Ah…_!_! _They're those things…! From back then!_?'_ Alibaba thought, coming to the same conclusion._

_"…!" Jamil gasped. They all stared in awe as Aladdin, surrounded by a blazing swarm of fluttering lights, raised the staff above his head. "Amazing… It's just my teacher said…!_! _It has to be him…!_!" _ he exclaimed excitedly as Aladdin charged. Morgiana immediately rushed to intercept him. Aladdin swung his staff, and Morgiana countered with a fierce kick, stopping the staff with the metal shackle around her ankle._

"_!_?" _She gasped when a huge burst of light fired from the staff, shooting straight past her. Her eyes widened as it exploded violently against the wall behind her._

_'D-Damn_…_!_!' _thought Faith as her jaw dropped in astonishment._

_"It has to be him…!_!"_ Jamil exclaimed with an almost maniacal look in his eyes. "A user of the grand world creation magic…!_! _The magi!_!_!"_

* * *

**Chapter 17: Lord of the Dungeon**

* * *

'What the—! That cane is gathering light!' Alibaba thought, staring in awe as Aladdin fought.

"That is the slave of the Rukh! You sure are the magi_!_!_!_" Jamil exclaimed excitedly. "Go, Morgiana! Using slaves is my power_!_!_!_ Show him now just how strong you are_!_!_!_" Morgiana had no choice. She grit her teeth, preparing to fight again. Aladdin began gathering more power. "Magi… you can't escape… I haven't accepted you yet… because you can't win against Morgiana… 'Why', you ask? You see, she comes from that legendary race, the Fanalis clan_!_!_!_" Jamil boasted proudly. "They're the ultimate hunting tribe from the Dark Continent! No matter what attack they get, they still stand unscathed! Their kicks are lightning! They could even take down the mightiest of beasts in one blow_!_!_!_ They are the most fearsome of predators! That's why… magi_!_!_!_ Unless you have what it takes to defeat those who stand above the lions…" Aladdin raised his staff. "You should give up quietly now… and become my general!" Jamil's laugh died in his throat when the magi fired a blast of light straight at Morgiana, blowing her away. Alibaba and Faith's eyes widened in astonishment.

"_!_!" Morgiana cried out as she slammed into a stone pillar. She struggled to break free, but it was useless. She remained there, stuck fast by the ball of living light Aladdin had hit her with. Jamil collapsed to the ground, shocked that his number one slave had been defeated so easily.

"I'm so sorry, onee-san…" Aladdin apologized. "Just stay there for a while, okay?" Jamil shook with fear as the magi approached him. "My flute." Aladdin said, holding out his hand. "Give it to me." With a trembling hand, Jamil returned Ugo's flute to him. He had no other choice but to comply.

"H-Hold on_!_!_!"_ Jamil shouted anxiously as Aladdin turned his back on him. "This isn't how it's supposed to be_!_!_!_" Aladdin stopped and glanced back at the man. "I-I'm supposed to be the king! I've been waiting for you… waiting for you all my life! Today, you are supposed to choose me… That's why I've worked so hard! I took the place of my insipid parents… I used people, imposed the law, raised a fortune_!_!_!_ The one who made Qishan into the biggest labyrinth town was _me!_!_!_ Isn't that amazing, huh_!_? That's right, amazing! That's me_!_!_!_ I'm the chosen one… I'm a perfectly capable man. That's why… you have to make me king_!_!_!"_

"… Heh~ king? I don't know what you're talking about… But… for something as grand as that… I cannot think of anyone less deserving, sir." Aladdin replied coldly. Jamil's smile faltered as he stared at the magi in shock and slumped forward in defeat.

'Shut _down_!' thought Faith.

"Are you all right, Faith?" Aladdin called out to her.

"Oh yeah, peachy-keen!" She shouted back with a laugh despite the pain as she flopped down onto the floor, taking it easy. "Don't mind me, I'm just gonna chill over here for a little while…"

"… Hahaha!" Alibaba laughed as Aladdin walked back over to him, and it began to sink in that they had won.

"Are you okay, Alibaba-kun?" Aladdin asked, kneeling down beside him again.

"I-I'm good… This is nothing." Said Alibaba, even though he was obviously in a lot of pain. "But you…!"

"Yeah, I know! He was totally awesome_!_!" Faith said with a proud grin. "What was that? Psychic power? Are you some kind of magician_!_?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, really what are you? You were so much cooler than I would have ever imagined_!_!_!_" Alibaba agreed excitedly. "I really have no idea what you are…"

"… What are you saying? Alibaba-kun… You're the one who wanted to go dungeon diving, that's why we're here! I'm your friend!" Aladdin said with a smile.

"That's right, Aladdin is Aladdin." Faith agreed. "So now that that's settled, let's find the 'treasure chest' and blow this popsicle stand!"

"…!" said Alibaba. That's right, they weren't finished yet. "Y-Yeah!" As was Aladdin helping his friends get back on their feet, something odd happened.

"Hey, what's up with the flute?" Faith asked.

"It's glowing." Aladdin said as he blew into it. Ugo-kun must be trying to tell them something. A beam of light shot out from the flute, aiming itself straight at a double-handled urn engraved with an eight-point star.

"…" The three of them stared at it for a moment. A bead of sweat slid down the sides of their faces.

"That pot…" said Alibaba.

"It lit up!" said Aladdin.

"It's on a pedestal… must be important." said Faith. "Let's go poke it!"

"Wha…?" Alibaba said, taken aback. "… Um… Aladdin?" he asked a bit nervously as they approached the urn. Was this really something they should be touching…? Aladdin cautiously started reaching out a tentative finger to touch it, but Faith felt he was taking too long and ended up beating him to the punch.

"Touch!" she chimed as her finger came in contact with the urn. The light surrounding it suddenly flared up, and in an instant all of the stone in the room transformed into precious metals and gems. Aladdin, Alibaba, and Faith were knocked back as something massive and powerful exploded out of the urn, busting through the roof of the tower. Everyone still conscious stared up in shock and awe at the humongous blue being that was now looming over them.

'By the power of Grayskull…_!_!_!_' Faith thought with wide eyes.

"… Who is it?" The Djinn's voice boomed. "Who wants to be king?" A warm puddle formed in Jamil's lap.

"AHHHHHH_!_!_!_" he screamed hysterically with wild eyes, dripping with cold sweat, as he pointed up at the towering monster. "AHHHHHH_!_!"

"Hmph_!_!_!_" the Djinn sniffed with distaste. "Is it you? No… you cannot be… Your vessel is as black as night! It reeks of sham and much deceit. You there, girl?" he asked, turning his attention to Morgiana, who was also freaking out, but with much more dignity than her master. "No, too small… But I can feel a strong desire to live coming from you." He froze momentarily when his eyes landed on Faith and they widened in surprise. "You… What are you, girl? You are not from this world…"

"…_!_?" Alibaba and Morgiana gasped in astonishment. What… What did he just say…?

"Oh, you can tell just by looking? I'm impressed_!_!" Faith said loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth so he could hear her small voice. She was so used to strange and unexpected things happening by now, that she was hardly fazed by the appearance of another blue giant.

"Hmm… I sense a great power has begun to awaken in you…" said the Djinn seriously. Faith wondered is he was talking about her psychic powers. "But it would only get in the way… You cannot become a king vessel."

"Tch!" Faith clicked her tongue and snapped her fingers in disappointment. 'Damn, just my luck…' she thought with a frown. She didn't completely understand what was going on, but she had always wanted her own personal genie.

"What about you?" the Djinn asked, turning to Alibaba.

'Ohhh, shit…' Alibaba thought, too stunned to move.

"…" The Djinn eyed him critically for a moment before letting out a sigh. Alibaba flinched.

"Wh-_What kind of reaction was that?"_ he demanded incredulously.

"You humans are so tiny, I cannot hear you at all…" The Djinn said, shrinking in size until he was much closer to their level, though he still towered over them. "Now, what about the rest? Let's see, hmm… Ohh. Well, well… If it isn't the magi." He said when his eyes landed on Aladdin, bowing deeply to the boy.

"Eh? Are you talking about me?" Aladdin asked, surprised.

'Oi, oi! That monster bowed to him?' Alibaba thought, feeling taken aback and a little bewildered.

"What's this 'magi' thing everyone keeps talking about? Ya'll know each other?" Faith asked Aladdin, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know… I've never seen any Djinn other than Ugo-kun before…" he replied, just as mystified as the rest of them.

'Aladdin, just… just what on earth are you?' Alibaba wondered.

"?" They were surprised when the flute glowed again, and Ugo suddenly came out without warning.

"Well, now it's a party!" Faith remarked wryly.

"Ah! It's you!" the dungeon's Djinn gasped, but Ugo quickly put his hands up to stop him before he could say anymore and started communicating something via hand signs and body language.

"…_!_?" Alibaba, Aladdin, and Faith said, wondering what was going on.

'He almost looks like he's doing the Macarena…' she thought wryly.

"Wh-What are they talking about?" Alibaba asked aloud, sweat-dropping.

"I see…" the Djinn of the dungeon said once he was done 'talking' with Ugo. "Well, I think I understand the situation now. Proper introductions are in order. My name is Amon, Djinn of politeness and austerity. And from what I understand, you all came through this dungeon to meet me, did you not? Congratulations… You have 'cleared' this dungeon!"

"_!_!" They gasped excitedly.

"We cleared it_!_!_!"_ Alibaba exclaimed.

"Awesome sauce_!_!_!_" Faith cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. Now they were getting somewhere!


	18. Chapter 18

**Previously:**

_"I see…" the Djinn of the dungeon said once he was done 'talking' with Ugo. "Well, I think I understand the situation now. Proper introductions are in order. My name is Amon, Djinn of politeness and austerity. And from what I understand, you all came through this dungeon to meet me, did you not? Congratulations… You have 'cleared' this dungeon!"_

"_!_!" _They gasped excitedly._

_"We cleared it!_!_!" Alibaba exclaimed._

_"Awesome sauce!_!_!_" _Faith cheered, throwing her hands up in the air. Now they were getting somewhere!_

* * *

**Chapter 18: Clear**

* * *

"Hey there! Amon-kun… I'm Aladdin." Aladdin said, introducing himself with a little wave, while Alibaba and Faith were preoccupied with inspecting (more like spazzing out over) the treasure. "Nice to meet you…?"

"Yes… But I know who you are, magi." The Djinn answered respectfully.

"What's a… magi…?" Aladdin asked.

"…" Amon glanced at Ugo and waited for his approval before speaking. "A magi is someone who chooses kings. Throughout history, every king has been chosen by a magi. Wherever mankind gathers, there is a need for a king to unify them properly. There is someone who is destined to become king. And to seek this person out, discover him, to him and train him well… a wise man has been sent to this world by our great king. O reincarnation of our beloved Solomon… that is who you are." He explained.

"…" Ugo watched silently as Aladdin pondered what he had just heard.

"Hey, did I just hear someone mentions King Solomon?" Faith asked, perking up when she heard what sounded like something familiar being mentioned. She was now completely decked out from head to toe in fine jewelry. "What's some dude from the old testament got do with Aladdin? Did you guys just say something about Aladdin being his replacement?"

"O-Old testament…?" Amon asked, dumbfounded. What was this girl talking about? Why did she seem to know about their great king_!_? Ugo calmed him by explaining something some more hand signs. "Oh, I see… Well, the answer to your question is probably 'nothing'. The Solomon you are referring to is from another world, correct?"

"Oh. Now that you mention it…" Faith said, sweat-dropping, as she smiled a bit wryly at herself for jumping the gun like that.

"Hey, um… What about the treasure_?_?" Alibaba asked excitedly, clutching an armful of golden goods. "Don't we get a treasure? Or, hey, since I cleared the dungeon, can I have this?"

"What a noisy runt you are…" Amon said, sweat-dropping. To think _that_ was his king vessel… "Fine, take whatever you want, and be quiet!"

_"Yeeaahhh!_!" Alibaba cheered, running off to grab more stuff. Amon heaved a sigh.

"Why would you bring a brat like him along?" the Djinn asked Aladdin. The girl was somewhat annoying too, but at least she wasn't drooling all over everything.

"Er, what do you mean?" Aladdin asked, confused. "Never mind, that's not important anyway… Tell me something, what did you mean by 'reincarnation'? Am I taking someone's place? Why me?"

"That's…" Amon began a bit hesitantly, when the whole tower suddenly shook violently.

"Wh… Whazzat_!_?" Alibaba asked nervously as he whipped his head around to face them, revealing that he must have been in the middle of testing a pearl of strings with his teeth, because they were still in his mouth.

"An earthquake…?" Faith asked with a frown.

"Mng…" said Amon as he closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated. "This is…_!_?" he gasped as his eyes shot open again. "Someone is trying to seal the 'Road' from the outside…"

They didn't know it, but Judar and another member of Al-Thamen had been sent by Ren Gyokuen to investigate the other half of the great disturbance that they had sensed in the rukh. It had not been hard to convince him after hearing something similar happened when Sinbad was born, because Judar had been sure he would find something interesting… Instead, he found nothing but sand (Aladdin and Faith had already moved on). So, rather than let the trip be a complete waste of his time, Judar had decided to pop in and do something about that dungeon that had been collecting dust in Qishan for the past ten years.

"Road?" Aladdin asked Amon back in the tower.

"What road? Are you taking about how we got here?" Faith asked.

"Whoa, that was close! I just managed to save these…" Alibaba exclaimed as he finished tying up several large bulging sacks of treasure, pausing to wipe the sweat from his brow. "Here, Aladdin and Faith, you take these. And then Ugo-kun can take this bag." He instructed them.

"On it!" Faith agreed without hesitation.

"Y-Yeah…" Aladdin said, sweat dropping. When did he…?

"You sure are laid back at time like this…" Amon remarked, sweat-dropping. "But if this keeps up… you won't be able to leave this place!"

_"EEEEH!_?" Alibaba exclaimed as they all flinched in shock.

"Like, _ever!_?" Faith asked incredulously. "That's kind of a problem, man_!_!"

"Don't panic! I'm going to create an exit for you now, so don't worry!" Amon told them. The Djinn raised his hand and drew a glowing eight-pointed star seal in the air with his fingers to open up a new path. A pillar of light rose up to the ceiling from the seal as it settled on the floor. "Now, if you want to return, enter this circle!" he instructed the three of them urgently as they each grabbed a sack of treasure, while Ugo moved the biggest one for them.

"The roof… It looks the same as the dungeon's gate…" Alibaba said as they stared up into the portal in the ceiling from below.

"Yeah." Faith and Aladdin agreed, pausing to glance up too once they were safely inside the seal.

"What's wrong?" Amon asked as he turned away from them while Ugo returned to his flute. "Don't you want to return_!_?" The three of them turned and saw that he was talking to Morgiana. "Make haste! This dungeon is going to collapse…! It's certain death for anyone still here after that happens!"

"Onee-san! Grab hold quickly_!_!" Aladdin shouted urgently, holding his hand out for her.

"…" Morgiana was frightened, sweating nervously as she glanced between them and her master. What should she do_!_?

"What are you waiting for_!_?" Faith shouted. "Why are you still worried about that bastard_!_?"

"All he's done till now is treat you like dirt, right_!_?" added Alibaba. "Leave him behind and follow us to your freedom…_!_!" But Morgiana couldn't leave Jamil. What they said was true, but that was exactly why she couldn't do it. All of the fear and pain he had inflicted on her over the years had bound her too tightly.

_'You will save me, Morgiana!_!' the unspoken ordered echoed in her mind as invisible chains pulled tighter on her soul. Poor Morgiana grit her teeth, trembling as she reached for her abusive master. She stopped short, shocked when Goltas suddenly threw himself between her and Jamil.

"_!_!_?_" Aladdin, Faith, and Alibaba gasped, feeling just as startled, if not more. They thought he had already died from his wounds!

"Go-Goltas_!_! You're alive…" Morgiana exclaimed. "Move aside, Goltas! I have to save Master…"

"…" Goltas stared down at her for a moment before placing a hand on his neck to apply some pressure to help him speak. "T—That man... can't be allowed… out of here." He said in a raspy voice.

"!" Morgiana gasped and her eyes widened as she stared up at him in astonishment. "Goltas… you… you can talk…"

"I shouldn't… leave this place… either…" Goltas continued as he kneeled down and picked Jamil up, tossing the evil man over his shoulder to carry him away. "Morgiana… You and I came from the north and the south… our ancestors come from great tribes… But… I have… forgotten my family and pride… and completely gave into being his property. A person like me who has been utterly defeated like this, and taken people's lives… could never return to my country… and face my people… But you're different." He told her. "You've been stuck under him, but you've managed to hold onto your pride… Return to your country, Morgiana. That is my final… wish." Morgiana stared up at him in astonishment as he grabbed his sword. With one blow, he cut the chain on her shackles.

Morgiana joined the others inside the seal for the new exit.

"The dungeon is crumbling… Make haste…_!_!" said Amon as he raised his hand again, and closed his eyes to concentrate on sending them back safely to the outside world. As the seal they were sitting on rose up towards the portal in the roof, Morgiana looked down and watched her savior silently walk further into the dungeon with their master.

"Goltas Doljis, you're such a good boy…" Jamil began rambling senselessly while he was being carried away. "Excellent… I knew I could use you! I'm feeling great now! Good… Now everyone, let's head back…! Hm?" He said when he noticed something was missing. "Where's Morgiana?" He asked, looking around. And then, he saw her. Morgiana… Morgiana was… leaving?

A bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of Morgiana's face when her eyes met his, but then Goltas stepped through the door of the tower as another quake hit, and she lost sight of them as more rubble fell from the roof. Aladdin, Alibaba, and even Faith remained solemnly silent as they watched.

"Now go… with the blessing of King Solomon…" Amon told them. "This will be the final bit of magic I can spare you!" With that, he sent them shooting off into the portal through space and time to return them to their own world. "Oh, I should go with them." He reminded himself, shrinking into a form small enough to fit inside Alibaba's knife.

That same day, there was a huge commotion in the city of Qishan when the building that represented outside of the dungeon began to collapse.

"What's going on…_!_?" someone cried as the people ran from area around the sinking building.

"The dungeon, it's… sinking_!_?"

"Are you sure about this, my magi?" Judar's babysitter asked him.

"Yeah. I mean, it's be a pain if some wacko captured it, you know?" Judar said boredly. "That lord you roped in is gone now, so let's head home."


	19. Chapter 19

**Previously:**

_"Now go… with the blessing of King Solomon…" Amon told them. "This will be the final bit of magic I can spare you!" With that, he sent them shooting off into the portal through space and time to return them to their own world. "Oh, I should go with them." He reminded himself, shrinking into a form small enough to fit inside Alibaba's knife._

_That same day, there was a huge commotion in the city of Qishan when the building that represented outside of the dungeon began to collapse._

_"What's going on_…_!_?" _someone cried as the people ran from area around the sinking building._

_"The dungeon, it's… sinkin_g_!_?"

_"Are you sure about this, my magi?" Judar's babysitter asked him._

_"Yeah. I mean, it's be a pain if some wacko captured it, you know?" Judar said boredly. "That lord you roped in is gone now, so let's head home."_

* * *

**Chapter 19: The Promise  
**

* * *

"We're going through that portal thing again_!_!_!_" Alibaba exclaimed as they drew closer.

"What else were you expecting_!_?" Faith asked dubiously.

"I don't know!" Alibaba said defensively. "Aw, dammit! I don't wanna feel like I'm being ripped apart again!"

"Yeah, that sucks!" Faith agreed with a grimace. "Well, at least it's only your second time and not your third! Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times boys and girls, 'cause here we goooo_!_!_!_" She exclaimed as they were sucked into the portal.

_FSHUUUU…_

'… Where am I?' Faith wondered as she opened her eyes. Instead of the usual forceful pulling sensation, it more felt like she was floating. 'So dark, I can't see…' Faith rubbed her eyes and soon realized that she was in space again once her eyes adjusted. Way down below, she could see the surface of a dark, reddish planet. She was still sitting on the magic eight-pointed star seal thingy the Djinn had made and being transported through a spiraling tunnel of light… but unlike her previous experiences with teleportation or whatever this was, it felt like she was moving at a slow, almost leisurely/dream-like pace. It was a complete cake-walk by comparison.

"Faith… You're here too." Aladdin said, alerting her to his presence. Faith looked around and saw him gliding up to her from behind. Apparently you could float short distances inside this thing if you tried…

"Oh, there you are… Is it just us?" She asked.

"I dunno… Let's check." He said. So the two of them scooted around until they saw another familiar face.

"Alibaba-kun…" Aladdin called, getting the other boy's attention.

"Yo!" Faith said as they both paused to give him a little wave.

"Ah, Aladdin_!_! Faith_!_!_!_" Alibaba said, looking surprised to see them for some reason. He must have thought he was alone, too.

"So, looks like we'll be home soon." Aladdin remarked as he and Faith floated over, pretending to swim through the air.

"Yeah, it does." Alibaba agreed.

"Meanwhile, this is pretty sweet." Faith said, doing the back stroke in midair. There was something really relaxing about the atmosphere. "It feels good~!"

"Yeah… I just feel like kicking back." Said Alibaba.

"Me too…" Aladdin agreed.

"…" The three of them sat in a comfortable silence for a moment as they watched the lights swirling around the outside of the vortex they were in. every now and then it would be spread thin enough in some areas for them to be able to tell that the source of the light appeared to be swarms of those little glowing bird things from earlier.

"But I'm still too hyped up to sleep." Said Faith.

"Yeah, let's talk some." Said Alibaba.

"Okay!" said Aladdin.

"That sure was one hell of a quest!" said Faith.

"I know!" Alibaba agreed. "I thought I'd _die_—um, wait, let's see… more than _seven_ times over!"

"Yeah, there was that time… Oh, and that other one…" said Faith, ticking each incident off on her fingers. "For a moment, I really thought we'd be eaten by those giant ants back then…" The thought made her shudder.

"Yup, those ants sure were evil!" Aladdin agreed with a smile.

"But those eggs were pretty, right?" said Alibaba brightly.

"The moss on the walls was bright, too_!_!_!_" Aladdin said excitedly.

"Yeah, I think that was actually one of my favorite parts_!_!" Faith agreed. "Hope would have loved it!"

"I was hoping to get some so I could sell it, but I didn't get the chance." Alibaba said, disappointed. It would've sold like hotcakes!

"It's not so bad, we got a bunch of treasure…" Aladdin reminded Alibaba as he and Faith sweat-dropped.

"Why are you trying to gather so much money, anyway?" Faith asked curiously. Money was nice to have and everything, but Alibaba's lust for gold definitely surpassed what she would call 'normal'.

"Eh, you're asking 'why'?" Alibaba asked. "Don't you know? I mean, you said you used to be rich yourself. Don't you want that back?"

"Yeah, well, my sister and I want to make enough to be able to live 'comfortably'…" Faith said thoughtfully. "But money isn't everything, at least, that's what she says. Personally, I think it counts for a lot! So, go ahead, and answer the question."

"Well, I've got all kinds of reasons! The most important is that I need a lot of it. See, I want to open a shop when I get enough cash for it. The best way to make my own money is to open a shop, and of course, everything I sell will be stuff I found myself_!_!_!"_ Alibaba explained, happy to have a captive audience. "I'm going down south! To the Kingdom of Sindria! It's the capital of dreams and parties run by Sinbad himself! There I will open my shop, 'Sinbad Dream'!" He could see it now, he'd be filthy rich, and the girls would flock to him like seagulls to a Cheeto!

"Yay! That sounds like fun!" Aladdin said.

'Sounds like Vegas…' Faith thought wryly.

"Well, before I do that, I'd stop by Balbadd for a bit to take care of a little business. What about you guys? Are you gonna go home?" Alibaba asked them. "Come to think of it, that Djinn said something really outrageous back there… What was that about another world?" he asked Faith.

"Oh, that. Yeah… the truth is I'm from a completely different world. For some reason me and Hope got sucked up into a swirling vortex of light, and the next thing I know, we've been separated and left to fend for ourselves on a strange planet… And our money's no good here, which is why I need some of this treasure to hire a decent search party and find a decent artist so I can put up lots of 'lost' posters in order to find her." She explained very matter-of-factly without even blinking.

"…" Alibaba blinked. "I-I see… Uh… Good luck with that?" he said awkwardly, sweat-dropping. He really didn't know how to respond to something like that. "What about you, Aladdin?"

"Me? Come what may." Aladdin replied, gazing into the light surrounding them. "Right now, I'm going to keep looking with Ugo-kun for the Djinn Vessels. I guess if you've reached your goals, Alibaba-kun, Faith… then our adventures together… are over…" he finished sadly.

"… Over, huh…?" Faith said, suddenly feeling down. She hadn't thought of it like that before… She had gotten kind of attached to the little squirt. She liked this world of magic and monsters and adventure.

"…" Alibaba bit his lip as he also thought about everything they had been through together. "… Hey… Aladdin… Thanks for… well, everything." He said with a small smile. "I had always wanted to go dungeon diving but, I never thought I could do it until I met you… When you joined me dungeon diving… I was _so_ glad! See, I had backed off… I made it to the stairs all right, but just when I got to the top, I always got cold feet. I'd be frozen and couldn't move at all. But that's all ancient history now… I was afraid of screwing up, so I gave in. What a coward I was! We've done it because of your and Faith's strength!"

"…" Faith said, surprised. He was praising her? What's gotten into him all of a sudden? He didn't have to look so down about it…

"I don't think so…" Aladdin said, standing up. "You're brave!" he told Alibaba. "I've known that from the day I met you. You were playing along with that old guy back then, but I saw how angry you were when he laughed at your dreams, which is why, when he threatened the lives of other people, you got really angry… You fought him, and went out of your way to save others. That's how you really are… You know, back then I… I really began to take a liking to you_!_!_!_ Despite your reasons, you still believed in yourself! As long as you do that, you're fine! That's not something a coward could do. So I know you're brave. Really brave! I respect that about you, my best friend!" Aladdin finished brightly with a radiant smile.

"…!" Alibaba gasped, extremely touched. "A-Al—!"

"Yeah, Aladdin's right." Faith agreed. "That part of you really reminds me of my sister, so if you say you're a coward then I'll get mad, 'cause you're really similar…" 'Though she's way less of a chicken than you are.' She thought with a smirk.

"F-Fa—! Don't go praising me like that!" Alibaba said as he blushed with a giant grin on his face, suddenly feeling incredibly happy and embarrassed by all their praise, as he gave both of his new friends a solid whack on their shoulders. "You won't get anything! Well, a little cash maybe, since we're rich_!_!_!_" he told them with a silly expression on his face. "Now I will get all the women and food I've ever wanted!" he said with a maniacal laugh, clutching some of the treasure in his hand while he imagined it turning into delicious food and beautiful women.

"Food and girls~?" Aladdin asked excitedly, blushing at the thought of being able to play with those pretty onee-sans from before again.

"Hells yeah!" Faith cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"So don't say stuff like 'the adventure is over', there's still plenty left to do! It ain't over yet!" Alibaba said excitedly. "There are still lots of dungeons! And plenty of other worlds to explore! It'll be a blast! I'm getting excited just thinking about it! So much that I can't sleep_!_!_!_ That's why we've got to find all of them, Aladdin! We've got nothing better to do, right? And Faith, you can join us once you've found your sister! You can bring her along, too_!_! Let's quit just sitting beside the road and get moving! We can do it if we're together!" he finished passionately Aladdin and Faith smiled and grinned.

"Yeah! Let's go_!_!_!_" They said excitedly.

"Right! It's decided, then!" said Alibaba.

"Yaay~! It will be so much fun_!_!_!"_ Aladdin cheered.

"It's gonna be epic_!_!_!_" Faith shouted.

"Let's go, then_!_!_!_" Alibaba said excitedly. "It's a promise, okay?"

Morgiana awoke with a start and suddenly found herself sitting on the ground in the middle of a dirt road.

'This is…! The city's outskirts?' she thought as she looked into the distance at the outer limits of Qishan, surprised and confused. But she wasn't the only one.

"…" Alibaba sat there for a moment, stunned to find himself in the middle of a very deep and large pit with all the sacks of treasure. He had been transported back to the base of where Amon's dungeon used to be.

"The boy appeared where the dungeon had vanished!" exclaimed one of the many astonished onlookers who had come to investigate the dungeon's disappearance.

"Just like the old legend!" said another.

"That boy finished the dive_!_?"

"_WHOOOAAAH!_!_!_" The crowd cheered in amazement. Alibaba smiled and looked around excitedly.

"Huh? Aladdin? Faith…?" he said, confused when he realized neither of them was still with him. 'Ah, well… It's cool, we still have some time…' he thought, assuming that wherever they were, they were probably together somewhere safe. 'I must head back home and get prepared, then I'll wait for him. I know you'll be back, Aladdin_!_!_!_' he grinned at the memory of the younger boy calling him his friend.

However, Aladdin and Faith would never return to that city.


	20. Chapter 20

**Previously:**

_"…" Alibaba sat there for a moment, stunned to find himself in the middle of a very deep and large pit with all the sacks of treasure. He had been transported back to the base of where Amon's dungeon used to be._

_"The boy appeared where the dungeon had vanished!" exclaimed one of the many astonished onlookers who had come to investigate the dungeon's disappearance._

_"Just like the old legend!" said another._

_"That boy finished the dive!_?"

"_WHOOOAAAH!_!_!_" _The crowd cheered in amazement. Alibaba smiled and looked around excitedly._

_"Huh? Aladdin? Faith…?" he said, confused when he realized neither of them was still with him. 'Ah, well… It's cool, we still have some time…' he thought, assuming that wherever they were, they were probably together somewhere safe. 'I must head back home and get prepared, then I'll wait for him. I know you'll be back, Aladdin!_!_!_' _he grinned at the memory of the younger boy calling him his friend._

_However, Aladdin and Faith would never return to that city._

* * *

**Chapter 20: Reunion**

* * *

"This… This is amazing…!" Ren Koumei said, staring at the scroll in his hands in astonishment. He had been wondering why his older brother had summoned him all the way out to his base on the Tenzan plateau, but this… "If we use this method for long-distance communication, then instead of weeks, or even months, we can know what's happening in any given corner of the empire almost instantly! I never would have thought… Can our magicians really do this?"

"Yes." Kouen answered confidently. "It may take some time to set up since we will have to have the magician's learn how to coordinate with each other, but I have been told that it is definitely possible to carry out. I got the idea after talking to someone very interesting. I called you out here because want you to meet her. I believe she can be very useful to us." With that, Kouen stood up and he led his younger brother out of his tent and over to Hope's.

"Her name is Hope Dupont," he began to explain, "and she is so desperate to find her sister, that if we offer to use our resources to find her missing twin for her, she would most likely do anything we asked of her in return."

"Twins? How unusual…" Koumei remarked as Kouen reached to open the flap of Hope's tent. He was surprised when his older brother suddenly froze. "Is something…" Koumei started to ask as he peered around his brother's shoulder to see inside, trailing off when he saw what was wrong. Instead of the eighteen-year-old girl they were looking for, the two brothers were greeted by the sight a couple of soldiers, both of whom were fast asleep. One of them had been stripped of his uniform, and Hope Dupont and her bag of mysterious items was missing. She had obviously drugged her guards by grinding up some of her sleeping pills and slipping the powder into their tea on the sly.

Yes, it was for that very purpose that Hope had endeavored to gradually gain the trust of the men guarding her. Each evening she offered them a pot of tea, biding her time til she found an opportunity to escape. With her medicine running low and her anxiety on the rise, Hope had made up her mind that she needed to take action and start searching for her sister _before_ her meds ran out, while she could still trust herself to think straight. So she took advantage of the commotion caused by the arrival of Koumei the previous evening to escape under the cover of darkness during the new moon. First, she drugged her guards and waited for them to fall asleep. Then, she pulled one of their uniforms on over her dress to blend in while she marched over to the tent where she had managed to learn the magic carpets were being kept. She almost hit a bit of a snag there when some suspicious soldiers intercepted her, but she used the silver spoon she had borrowed from her dinner tray to parry their attacks. With her attackers bound and gagged so they couldn't alert anyone to her escape, Hope then grabbed one of the carpets and slipped out of the camp as quickly and quietly as possible, flying away during the moonless night as far and as fast as the magic carpet could carry her.

"…" Kouen stood there with his face cast partially in shadow. "Hmph! It seems I underestimated that woman…" he said with a smirk and a dangerous look in his eyes that sent shivers down the spines of the men who came running when he called out to issue orders for a search.

'Oh dear…' Koumei thought, covering his mouth with his fan. He hadn't seen his older brother this excited in a long while…

"…?" Hope said, shuddering, while she wondered why she suddenly felt as thought someone had just walked over her grave as she passed over a range of mountains. But despite the chill running up her spine, the air was beginning to warm a little with the rising of the sun, and Hope found herself being overcome by a strange feeling of optimism as the sky brightened. Unfortunately, she was also feeling exhausted and drained after flying all night, and before she knew it, the carpet was riding lower and lower as she began drifting in and out of consciousness, until it ran aground on some flat land at the edge of the mountains, and the rough (but not too rough) accidental landing somehow ended with her getting rolled up inside of it like a human burrito. She lay there, for hours, until the sun was high in the sky. The ground began to shake with the great thundering of many galloping horses' hooves beating against it, and still she continued to lay there like a log.

"Hm?" one of the young men said when he spotted something on the ground. "Hold on." He said, signaling the others to stop.

"Is it the enemy camp?" another one of the men asked.

"No, but… that's a person, right?" the first young man said, pointing to Hope.

"What, another one?" another man asked. "That's the third one today!"

"I guess we better take her back too…" the first young man said, dismounting to collect her. "_!_?" he gasped in surprise when he turned her over.

"What is it?"

"Her face… It's exactly the same as that other girl we found!"

Meanwhile, the women and children were working away back at the yurts, taking care of all the domestic chores and tending the horses and livestock.

"In order to make the best milk… you'll have to turn it harder than that." An old woman wearing a black cloak told a young boy working one of the churns.

"Huh? But Baba-sama, how come you can see me if you're blind?" the child asked.

"Oh? Because the rukh told me." The old women replied. "You'll understand more when you're older, that there is nothing the rukh doesn't see."

"Rukh? What's that~?"

"They are like small birds that dwell in the darkness."

"Baba-sama's always talking about birds and stuff." One of the young women said with a smile.

"Uhm, Baba-sama, the men found something weird!" another one of the young boys announced as members from the patrol entered the tent, carrying three unconscious strangers.

"Weird, you say?" the old woman asked, turning to face them. "Oh…" she gasped. Her eyes widened. "This is… The rukh are clamoring…"

"What are you saying, Baba-sama?" asked one of the girls.

"This kid sure looks weird… and these girls… I've never seen anything like this before…" said the young man who had found them. "I wonder… just what are they, anyway?"

"…pe. Hope!"

Hope woke with a start when she realized a familiar voice had been calling her name. She blinked and stared up in surprise at the girl looming over her.

"Faith…_!_!_!_" She exclaimed as she sat up and threw her arms around her sister, holding tight to make sure she was real and not a dream. "Oh my God, it's really you_!_!"

"In the flesh!" Faith said with a big grin as she returned her twin's hug. "When I woke up and saw you there, I almost didn't believe it~! Is this where you've been this whole time_!_?"

"Well, no… Come to think of it, where is 'this'?" Hope asked, glancing around. "Are we in a yurt?"

"Hmm, looks like it…" Faith said, taking another look around.

"Oh?" The twins turned to see that a young woman had started to enter the yurt while balancing a tray with two bowls what looked like warm milk. "Have the two of you woken up already?" she asked pleasantly with a smile. "Your little friend is still asleep next door."

"Friend?" Hope asked, wondering what on earth she could be talking about.

"This 'friend' wouldn't happen to be a boy with blue hair and flute, would it?" asked Faith.

"Huh?" said Hope.

"It's a long story, sis." Faith said when she saw the curious look Hope was giving her.

"That's fine." Hope said with a wry smile. "I've got one of those, myself…"

_"What is a 'country'?" Aladdin asked during one of his studying sessions with Ugo._

_"It's a determined land where political institutions rule a nation." The Djinn replied._

_"Ok, so what is a 'nation'?"_

_"A nation is a community that shares consanguinity."_

_"I see… Then… what am I?" Aladdin asked seriously._

_"…" Ugo remained silent._

_"You never answer this question…" Aladdin said grimly. "What is the point of me being excluded from all the worlds described in these books and being stuck here alone? Answer me! Answer me!"_

_"…" Once again, Ugo would said nothing._

_"Why won't you answer me?_!_!_!" _Aladdin screamed anxiously._

Aladdin's eyes shot open as he awoke from his dream. Actually, it was less of a dream and more of a memory…

"… Morning, Ugo-kun." Aladdin said a bit slowly as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "?" He didn't recognize where he was, but the bed was nice and warm.

"Oh, he really is in here! Hey, Aladdin~!" Faith said as she lifted the tent flap, holding it open for another pretty young woman holding a tray of food for him.

"Ah… Morning… Aladdin-kun…" the young woman said a bit shyly, giving him a kind smile. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Yay! I want!" Aladdin said excitedly, happy to see a familiar face and some food. "Ohh!" He gasped when he saw Hope. "Wow, is that your sister, Faith_!_? You really do have the same face~_!_!" he said, surprised.

"Hello… Aladdin, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Hope." Hope greeted the younger boy with a smile as they entered the tent. "I hear you've been taking care of my sister for me. Must've been tough." She said sympathetically.

"Yeah, it really was…" Aladdin said with a small smile, causing Faith to flinch.

"Wha_!_? You traitors…_!_!" Faith snapped incredulously. "Come on, give some credit! I think I did pretty good, considering the circumstances… It's not like I got arrested or anything... although, it was a pretty close call…" she said defensively, muttering the last part under her breath.

"What was that?" Hope asked pointedly with a shit-eating grin that told her sister she had definitely heard her. From the sound of it Faith had been really enjoying herself while she was being held captive. A bead of sweat slid down the side of Faith's face as she avoided her sister's gaze a bit guiltily. Toya, the young woman who had come in with them, smiled and let out a soft laugh as she set Aladdin's tray down on his bed for him.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" she apologized. "I'm glad that you're all fine. We found the three of you unconscious near the edge of the mountain… If night had come, the wolves would've killed you…"

'Night? Just how long have we been out…?' Hope wondered.

"Oh, scary!" Aladdin said while stuffing his face with the food they had brought him. "Then, you saved me, onee-san?"

"No, the person who saved you is… Dorji, a friend of mine…" Toya replied as someone lifted the tent flap.

"Oh… So you've woken up?" said Baba-sama as she entered the tent, unsurprised to find all three of them together again. "Children of the rukh."


	21. Chapter 21

**Previously:**

_"Hello… Aladdin, right? Nice to meet you, I'm Hope." Hope greeted the younger boy with a smile as they entered the tent. "I hear you've been taking care of my sister for me. Must've been tough." She said sympathetically._

_"Yeah, it really was…" Aladdin said with a small smile, causing Faith to flinch._

_"Wha!_? _You traitors…!_!" _Faith snapped incredulously. "Come on, give some credit! I think I did pretty good, considering the circumstances… It's not like I got arrested or anything... although, it was a pretty close call…" she said defensively, muttering the last part under her breath._

_"What was that?" Hope asked pointedly with a shit-eating grin that told her sister she had definitely heard her. From the sound of it Faith had been really enjoying herself while she was being held captive. A bead of sweat slid down the side of Faith's face as she avoided her sister's gaze a bit guiltily. Toya, the young woman who had come in with them, smiled and let out a soft laugh as she set Aladdin's tray down on his bed for him._

_"Ah, I'm sorry!" she apologized. "I'm glad that you're all fine. We found the three of you unconscious near the edge of the mountain… If night had come, the wolves would've killed you…"_

_'Night? Just how long have we been out…?' Hope wondered._

_"Oh, scary!" Aladdin said while stuffing his face with the food they had brought him. "Then, you saved me, onee-san?"_

_"No, the person who saved you is… Dorji, a friend of mine…" Toya replied as someone lifted the tent flap._

_"Oh… So you've woken up?" said Baba-sama as she entered the tent, unsurprised to find all three of them together again. "Children of the rukh."_

* * *

**Chapter 21: Rukh  
**

* * *

"… Rukh?" Aladdin asked as the twins furrowed their brows in identical looks of confusion.

"… What is that?" Faith asked.

'Rukh… I know I've heard that somewhere before…' Hope thought.

"Oh, Obaa-chan…" Toya said, standing up and stepping aside so the old woman could get closer to them.

"Hmm, let me see your faces…" Baba said, leaning in close as she opened one eye as wide as a dinner plate, while keeping the other closed.

"…" Aladdin and the twins said, sweat-dropping, as they leaned back in an attempt to protect their personal space while the old lady stared long an hard at them to the point where it started to get a bit creepy.

"It's okay." Baba said just as Faith was about to tell her to back off. "The rukh is happy."

"Ah… The rukh is a tale Obaa-chan created…" Toya explained for them since the old lady didn't seem to have heard their questions.

"It's not a tale." said Baba. "The rukh is spread around now too."

"This again…" Toya said, sweat-dropping.

'Okay…?' Faith thought wryly, also sweat-dropping. Was this old lady senile?

"Hm… Obaa-chan can see them too?" Aladdin asked.

"Huh_!_?" Toya said, surprised.

"I can." Answered Baba. "So you also can? This movement of countless lives in the shape of birds…"

"Birds…?" Hope asked, exchanging a glance with Faith. Wait a minute… she didn't mean…?

"Whoa! It's the first time that I've met someone that can see it besides me!" Aladdin exclaimed, jumping up and down in his excitement.

"Actually, I saw something like that in the dungeon." Faith chimed in. "At first I thought they were glowing butterflies, but…"

"Ah!" Hope gasped. "I've seen something like that too, now that you mention it… A few times I've seen what looks like winged lights flickering in my peripheral vision, but only when I was drifting somewhere between waking and dreaming, so I thought they might be hallucinations… And, wait, you've been in a dungeon, too?"

"Eh_!_?" Aladdin and Faith said, surprised.

"… 'Too'? You mean, you've been cleared one_!_? As expected of my sister! What was yours like_!_?" Faith asked excitedly.

"Um, yeah, but it's part of the long story I mentioned earlier… So how about we finish listening to our host's explanation about rukh first?" Hope suggested calmly.

"Well, it's nothing special," Baba said, picking up from where she left off, "my great-grandmother could see it too, she used to say… in other words… rukh is… the home of souls… While we live, it is every man for himself, but when you die, all go back to only one place… this is 'rukh'. When humans die, their bodies return to the earth, don't they? The souls return to the rukh… the home of souls…"

'Sounds a bit like the Catholic idea of the immortal soul…' Hope thought.

"_?_?_?"_ Aladdin, Faith, and Toya said, looking confused.

"I don't understand…" Aladdin said amazed. "Hm… I didn't know that. They've always helped me…"

"Have they?" asked Baba, surprised.

"Yes, when I shared the strength in my belly with them, grains of light gathered and gave me powers." He explained.

"Oh, so that's what happened back then…" said Faith, recalling how the lights had swarmed around Aladdin while he was fighting Morgiana and Jamil in the dungeon.

"What…_!_?" said Baba, taken aback. "That means…"

"Baba-sama, come here!" one of the women called, beckoning her outside.

"W… What is it?" Baba asked, wishing she hadn't been interrupted.

"The patrol has returned again."

"I understand." Baba said, following her out to receive their latest report.

"Patrol?" the twins asked.

"Yes, then men often go on patrols around our territory. That's how they found you." Toya explained. "Would you like to meet them?" The twins exchanged a glance with Aladdin.

"Sure." They answered, letting her lead the way.

"How did it go?" They heard another woman ask as they exited the tent.

"Fine, no enemies. And we still got a deer." Said one of the young men on horseback, holding up their prize for the gathering crowd to see. "Share with everybody."

"Aladdin-kun, Faith-chan, and Hope-chan… this is Dorji." Toya said, introducing them to a young man with rusty-red hair.

"Oh, you're that kid and those girls." Dorji said. "Are you fine? No wounds?"

"Amazingly, no…" Hope answered with a wry smile as a bead of sweat slid down the side of her face. Come to think of it, how did she manage to land without killing herself? The last she remembered, she was still pretty high in the air…

"Yep, we're totally fine!" said Faith with a grin.

"Yep, thanks for rescuing us, onii-san!" Aladdin added brightly.

"That's great." Dorji said with a friendly smile.

"Hey, Toya!" two other guys, whose names were Bator and Boyan, said with mischievous grins as they rushed over holding the deer.

"Dorji got this deer for you!" Boyan said with a snicker, earning himself an elbow to the head from Dorji.

"Idiot, that's not it!" he said, trying to play it cool, even though he was clearly embarrassed.

"Tell him that he's the best, Toya!" Bator said with a grin. Dorji paled and then blushed, sweating nervously as Toya stared up at him, waiting anxiously for her to say something.

"W-Weren't you scared, Dorji…?" Toya asked, seriously concerned. "Didn't you cry…? You used to be afraid of even bunnies…"

"Pfft…!" Faith snorted while his friends burst into a fit of laughter.

"That's all in the past_!_! I've grown up and become a man!" Dorji cried defensively.

"Hey, don't laugh so hard." Hope chided her sister. "For all we know, in this world bunnies are like the rabbit from Monty Python…" she whispered.

"Ah, that's so true…" Faith said, stopping for a moment to picture it. And then, for some reason, she laughed harder. Hope sweat-dropped. She must be remembering the rest of the movie…

"I'm a Kouga warrior!" Dorji declared proudly, still blushing a little. "I fight for my clan!"

"You're the best, onii-san!" Aladdin said with a smile.

"…" Toya smiled, but it seemed a little strained.

"Oh, Ugo-kun needs to say thanks for the rescue too!" Aladdin said, getting ready to blow into his flute.

"Ugo-kun?" Hope asked.

"Fufuh, you'll see…" Faith said with a Cheshire cat grin.

"So, is the rumor from the east true?" Baba asked the patrol leader.

"Ah, Baba-sama… The empire of the east is even more powerful. They've conquered much of the far eastern plains, and they will not take long to arrive in our village… And the enemy uses suspect monsters for war… It's worrying." He reported seriously.

'Empire of the east… They must be talking about the Kou Empire…' Hope thought worriedly.

"Don't worry!" Dorji said determinedly. "We have proudly defeated other countries for more than a hundred years! We'll beat them this time too_!_!"

"Yeah_!_! For the clan's pride!" Everyone cheered, pumping their fists in the air, including Ugo, whose giant blue arm was now sticking out of the flute. Suddenly everyone froze in shock as their eyes nearly popped out of their heads in surprise, all except for Dorji, who couldn't see because Aladdin was standing right behind him.

"?" Dorji turned to see what they were all staring at. "WHAAA_!_?" His scream echoed across the plains.

"… That's a Djinn, right?" Hope asked quietly behind one of her hands.

"Yep~!" Faith answered with a grin. She really loved watching people's reactions to seeing one for the first time.

"What the hell are you? Huuh_!_!" Dorji demanded once they had all gathered in Baba-sama's yurt to question the suspicious trio. "A suspect monster… You're a spies from the enemy empire, aren't you_!_?"

"What are you saying? A small kid and two girls can't be spies from an enemy country…" Toya said in their defense as Aladdin clung to her and the twins.

'Uh, we totally could if we wanted to…!' Faith thought, biting her tongue to stop herself from saying it aloud.

'I guess it's a really good thing I grabbed an unmarked carpet and left that uniform I borrowed behind…' Hope thought, sweat-dropping. Seeing how on edge they were, it would probably be better if she refrained from mentioning her brief stay with the enemy's general…

"Then why were they on the edge of the mountain?" Dorji asked. "And they were unconscious and all alone. How and where did they come from?"

'That's a really good question…' The twins thought, wondering that themselves since they hadn't had a chance to swap stories yet.

"That's what I want to know!" Aladdin said. "Faith and I were in a place called Qishan before… Do you know where it is?"

"Oh, that's where I was headed!" said Hope. It sounded like her calculations for Faith's location had been correct after all. "It's an oasis city in the desert, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one!" said Faith, impressed. She knew Hope would figure something out and come looking for her.

"Ah… I've heard of a city like that, from a caravan of the west." One of the older men said. "According to rumors, after several mountains are crossed in the west, there is a country of sand that is said to be very far from here, and they say walking there would take two years."

"Eh_!_?" Aladdin and the girls flinched in shock.

"So long…_!_!_!_" Faith exclaimed with wide eyes. But it only took 12 hours to get from the US to China, and they were on the opposite sides of the globe from each other!

"It's that far away_!_?_!_" Aladdin asked, startled.

'Ah, well… I guess it's not that surprising considering it took settlers at least five months to travel the Oregon Trail in covered wagons…' Hope thought, sweat-dropping. She wondered how long it would've taken via flying carpet…

"It's too far…" Dorji said, sweat-dropping. He suddenly felt really sorry for these kids.

"Does that country even exist?" Boyan asked dubiously.

"H-How are we supposed to get back…?" Aladdin asked dismally, visibly deflating at the idea of a two year journey.

"There is no way I'm walking for two years…" Faith said with a frown, chagrined. That was just way too ridiculous.

"…" Hope said, furrowing her brow slightly.

"Don't worry." Baba told them. "In two weeks, there shall be the spring market. You only need to ask someone to take you in the next caravan, so you can go more quickly."

"That's great… I'll do it!" Aladdin said, extremely relieved to hear such good news.

"Until then, you can stay here."

"Yes! I'll stay here for two weeks!" He said happily. "What about you, Faith and Hope onee-san?"

"Pleeeaaase~?" Faith asked, fluttering her eye lashes at her sister.

"Hmm… All right." Hope agreed. Faith was obviously very excited about it, and it's not like they'd figured out how to get back to their own world yet… Plus the further away they got from the Kou Empire the better, since she didn't know how upset Kouen might be for ditching him like that. He definitely wasn't going to be pleased. "We'll do that as well, if you don't mind. Thank you for your kind offer of hospitality."

"Yaay~_!_!" Aladdin and Faith cheered, slapping each other a high-five.

"You really want to go that badly?" Toya asked.

"… Yes, because we made a promise… with a friend." Aladdin said with a smile.


	22. Chapter 22

**Previously:**

"Hmm… All right." Hope agreed. Faith was obviously very excited about it, and it's not like they'd figured out how to get back to their own world yet… Plus the further away they got from the Kou Empire the better, since she didn't know how upset Kouen might be for ditching him like that. He definitely wasn't going to be pleased. "We'll do that as well, if you don't mind. Thank you for your kind offer of hospitality."

"Yaay~_!_!" _Aladdin and Faith cheered, slapping each other a high-five._

_"You really want to go that badly?" Toya asked._

_"… Yes, because we made a promise… with a friend." Aladdin said with a smile._

* * *

**Chapter 22: Family  
**

* * *

"… I see." Hope said thoughtfully once they had finished exchanging stories in private, considering everything she had just heard. "So that's what happened…" She was a little surprised by how cool Aladdin seemed to be with the fact that they were from another world (Faith had let him in on that when he saw her trying to use her phone while they were lost in the desert, and had to explain what it was). But it seemed he wasn't exactly normal himself.

"Man, I can't believe you just accidentally strolled into a dungeon like it was nothing… You even got yourself a Djinn_!_! I'm so proud!" Faith said, pretending to tear up.

"You've been through a lot, huh?" Aladdin asked Hope with a smile. "That Ojii-san sounds scary…"

'Ojii-san…?' Hope thought, sweat-dropping. He was only twenty-eight… "Y-Yeah, but… um, Aladdin-kun, you said you're looking for Djinn Vessels, right? How much do you know about them?"

"Hmm, not much." Aladdin replied honestly. "I'm mostly looking for them as a favor to Ugo-kun… But it seems like they can be found in dungeons. Ah, speaking of which, can you call your Djinn out so Ugo-kun can talk to him?"

"Huh?" Hope said, slightly taken aback. "Uh… Sorry, but I don't think I know how to do that… My Djinn doesn't really seem to do much. I haven't heard a peep from him since he went into my ring."

"Oh… That's too bad." Aladdin said, disappointed. Oh well, Ugo-kun seemed to be feeling a bit shy today anyway.

"Hey, is it really okay for us to keep traveling…? Don't we have to get you home?" Faith asked seriously as she eyed their zippered tote bag, suddenly remembering her sister only had a limited amount of meds in it.

"Yeah, but… It's not like we know how, right?" Hope said with a small frown. "Actually, I think keeping your promise to travel with Aladdin and your other friend to clear more dungeons is a really good idea. I don't know if it was the same for you, but when I went through the portal at the entrance to the dungeon, I was pulled into some kind of wormhole, a vortex of swirling light, that was just like the one that brought us here."

"Now that you mention it…" said Faith, thinking back. "I'm pretty sure that portal brought us to a different planet…"

"Right?" said Hope, lighting up with excitement. "That's why I think figuring out how that worked, and learning as much as we can about the Djinns and the dungeons, could be our key to getting home!"

"Ohh! See, Aladdin, I told you my sister was a genius_!_!" Faith said excitedly, beaming with pride.

"Mmn!" Aladdin agreed with a smile. "I don't really get it, but that sounds impressive, Hope onee-san!" He was a little sad to think they might end up leaving, though…

Later that evening, the whole village gathered around a large bonfire for a very lively supper. Judging by the fermented horse milk and a variety of other dishes being served, the Kouga Clan's culture appeared to have a lot in common with the Mongolian Nomads. The fermented horse milk had a slight sour taste, but once you got used to it, it was pretty refreshing and it sparkled softly on the tongue.

"This is fun. It's like one big happy family." Hope said with a smile as she sipped her horse milk.

"Yeah, reminds me of our Louisiana side of the family." Faith agreed, stuffing her face with fried dumplings.

"They're all relatives…?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes, they are all from the Kouga Clan." Baba answered with a smile. "For more than a hundred years, we've been living and dying together, being born and falling in love… The same blood flows inside us."

"Hmm… Family, huh…?" Aladdin mused, staring into the fire as he remembered how Ugo had once told him that he had no parents or family. The Djinn had said he was an existence different from other, normal people, that he was special… But being 'special' was lonely. He looked at the happy faces of the people of the Kouga Clan and watched Hope and Faith as they interacted with each other. The twins had somehow been drawn into a competition to see who could shift this huge random boulder that was sitting in the middle of the plain. "Family… how lucky…"

"What are you saying?" said Baba. "The people who live on these plains are living together as one. Now that you're here, that includes you. We will be your family." Baba told him, smiling as she placed a hand on his head. "You're Baba's child now!" Aladdin stared at her for a moment in surprise, but as her words sank in, the boy lit up like a Christmas tree.

"I love you, obaa-chan_!_!" Aladdin cried happily, blushing, as he threw his arms around her.

"Ho ho ho ho… Koff…!" Baba laughed, choking when Aladdin tightened his grip. A very ominous cracking sound was heard.

"Don't squeeze too hard_!_! Her neck!" Toya shouted anxiously, rushing to her grandmother's rescue.

"Look, look Aladdin_!_!" Faith said excitedly, holding up a huge platter of sweets. "Look what Hope won me!"

"Hey, those are for sharing!" Hope chided her.

"Wooow_!_!" Aladdin said, loosening his grip on Baba in his surprise. "You moved that big rock all by yourself, Hope onee-san_!_?"

"Well—" Hope started to explain.

"No way_!_!" said Dorji and his friends. "I'm telling you, that's cheating!"

"Yeah, using tricks is playing dirty!" said Boyan.

"What 'tricks'?" Faith asked, annoyed that they were still arguing over this.

"Yeah, all I did was use a sturdy plank and a smaller rock to make and lever and Fulcrum. And you never said we couldn't use tools." Hope reminded them.

"Well, she's got us there…" said Bator.

"Hohoho… Don't be such sore losers~! You're men now, aren't you?" Baba said with a Cheshire cat grin as she munched on one of the pastries with Aladdin.

"Ah! They've gotten to Baba-sama!" Boyan cried, while everyone else laughed good-naturedly at the little conspiracy the girls had going.

Meanwhile, the enemy was approaching from the east. Troops bearing the colors of the Kou Empire had just reached the edge of the mountain, and from a height they could see on the distant horizon a dim light from the Kouga Clan's bonfire. The steps of the great empire towards the village's domination were drawing closer.

But the others were blissfully unaware of the approaching danger, so they were still taking it fairly easy the next day.

"Hmm, then are you the 'troopers'?" Aladdin asked Dorji while Toya was showing Faith and Hope how to milk a mare.

"Yes. We live, work, and fight alongside horses, since the ancestors of antiquity. And when needed, I shall also fight bravely for the clan." Dorji explained proudly.

"Whoa, horse's milk is good~!" Aladdin said, alerting them to the fact that he had started drinking straight from another mare's teat. And the mare did not look happy.

'He wasn't even listening…' Dorji thought, chagrined, as vein popped on his forehead.

"You can't drink it directly_!_!" Toya said urgently as she ran over to stop the boy, flustered.

"That's right! If you drink too much, you'll give yourself the runs!" Hope added, concerned.

"Eh_!_?" Aladdin and Faith said, startled. Really…? From drinking _milk_?

_"Seriously?"_ Faith asked, sweat-dropping.

"Yeah, mare's milk isn't usually consumed raw, because it tends to have a strong laxative effect. Instead, it almost always gets fermented into a drink like _Airag_, or the milk wine we had last night." Hope explained. "Fermentation also destroys the lactose in milk, converting it into lactic acid, ethanol, and carbon dioxide. This makes _Airag_ acceptable for lactose intolerant people, which includes many Mongolians. Without fermentation, mare's milk contains significantly more lactose than milk from cows or yaks."

"You're gonna make a great anthropologist someday." Faith said, patting her sister on the shoulder.

"Thanks, I intend to!" Hope replied with a grin.

"What's an anthro… whatever you just said?" Aladdin asked curiously.

"Hmm, well… an anthropologist is basically someone who studies all the different ways people live… It's the study of what makes humans 'human'." Hope explained brightly, deciding to spare him a more complicated summary. "I think it's really interesting, because if you pay close attention, you'll see that even though lots of things change from culture to culture, the important things never do."

"Important things?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes." said Hope with a soft, affectionate smile. "People we love… things we want to protect… everyone has them. You do, too, right?" Aladdin smiled.

"Yeah!" he said brightly.

"Oh, good answer!" said Faith. "That might be worth a piggyback ride."

"Hmm… Women and children really don't understand the concept of a warrior…" Dorji said as he stood next to Toya, watching Aladdin play with the twins. His face was a little flushed.

"Fufufu…" Toya laughed softly. Dorji might have gotten bigger, but he was still just as shy as ever. "You… are stronger than before. But I'm worried…" She said as the wind swept across the plain, blowing through her hair. "I hope the day when you have to go into battle never comes. It would be such a blessing if we could all go on living together like this, wouldn't it?" she asked with a smile. Dorji looked at her.

"You don't need to worry, Toya." He said seriously. "I'll protect you, always."

"Aladdin, don't!" Hope said worriedly.

"Oh c'mon, what's the worst that could happen?" asked Faith.

"He could break his neck_!_! That one doesn't even have a saddle!" said Hope.

Hearing that, Dorji and Toya immediately whipped their head around to see what they were up to.

"Hey, hey! How do I ride a horse?" Aladdin asked excitedly, already scrambling onto one's back.

"Stupid! Amateurs don't ride horses!" Dorji yelled, flinching in shock. Was this kid trying to get himself killed_!_?

"_!_!" They all gasped when the horse suddenly reared up, taking off like a shot.

"Aladdin_!_!_!"_ The twins shouted in alarm, chasing after him. But it was no good. The horse was too fast!

"Whaaaa_!_!_!" _Aladdin cried, clinging to it for dear life while it tore through the village.

"Someone stop the horse_!_!"

"This kid is gonna die_!_!"

"Watch out_!_!_!_" Dorji yelled as the wild horse bucked and leaped into the air.

"!" The twins gasped, surprised when a young woman suddenly galloped up out of nowhere and grabbed hold of the reins as she jumped onto the back of the rampaging beast. In a matter of seconds, she had the horse completely under control, and Aladdin was safe and sound.

"Are you all right, young boy?" his savior asked pleasantly. Aladdin stared up at the elegant young woman in astonishment as she smiled down at him.

"Alaaaddin_!_!" The twins yelled as they sprinted up to them, beating Dorji and the rest of the villagers there.

"Th-Thank goodness… you're safe…_!_!" Hope said as they skidded to a halt, panting as they tried to catch their breath. "Thank you… very much… for saving him…!"

"Y-Yeah… Thanks… a bunch!" said Faith, leaning over with her hands on her knees.

"It was my pleasure." The young woman said politely as she helped Aladdin down off of the horse.

"Wow, that was really…_!_?" Aladdin winced, surprised when Hope suddenly gave him a good whack on the head. "O… Onee-san_!_?" he gasped, startled to see how angry the twins looked after that initial flood of relief. The kind and gentle Hope had multiple veins throbbing on her forehead.

"Don't you _ever_ do something like that again, you here_!_?" She scolded him sternly.

"Yeah, you scared the crap out of us!" Faith said with a frown, putting her hands on her hips.

"You could've been seriously hurt_!_! Do you realize how lucky you are this nice onee-san was able to save you_!_? Did you thank her properly yet?" Hope asked strictly.

"Th-Thank you, onee-san…" Aladdin told the young woman who had just saved him, trembling slightly with shock at Hope's sudden transformation. He really hadn't been expecting that at all. Hope let out a sigh.

"All right, come here…" she said, pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry I hit you… just try to be more careful next time, okay?"

"… Okay…" Aladdin said, forgiving her almost instantly as he snuggled up against her soft chest.

"Yeah, seriously, be more careful…" Faith said, sweat-dropping. Her sister was 99% angel, but you did _not_ want to tap into that last 1%...

The young woman who had saved Aladdin, Ren Hakuei, smiled as she watched the exchange, thinking those sisters must have been very worried about their little brother. It made her think of her own… But now was not the time for that. The arrival of her armed escort was a firm reminder of that.


	23. Chapter 23

**Previously:**

_"You could've been seriously hurt!_! _Do you realize how lucky you are this nice onee-san was able to save you!? Did you thank her properly yet?" Hope asked strictly._

_"Th-Thank you, onee-san…" Aladdin told the young woman who had just saved him, trembling slightly with shock at Hope's sudden transformation. He really hadn't been expecting that at all. Hope let out a sigh._

_"All right, come here…" she said, pulling him into a hug. "I'm sorry I hit you… just try to be more careful next time, okay?"_

_"… Okay…" Aladdin said, forgiving her almost instantly as he snuggled up against her soft chest._

_"Yeah, seriously, be more careful…" Faith said, sweat-dropping. Her sister was 99% angel, but you did not want to tap into that last 1%..._

_The young woman who had saved Aladdin, Ren Hakuei, smiled as she watched the exchange, thinking those sisters must have been very worried about their little brother. It made her think of her own… But now was not the time for that. The arrival of her armed escort was a firm reminder of that._

* * *

**Chapter 23: The Great Kouga Empire**

* * *

"I am the third child of the first emperor of the Kou Empire, Ren Hakuei. I have some to engage in diplomatic talks with you." Hakuei formally introduced herself to the Kouga Clan and their leader once her retainers had arrived.

"Emperor's daughter_!_!" the people gasped in astonishment.

'Crap…_!_!' the twins thought, fighting to keep their poker faces firmly intact. Hope hadn't expected to run into the Kou Empire again so soon, let alone another member of the royal family… But it was too late to hide now. Doing that would just make them look suspicious and draw attention. The princess didn't seem to recognize them as possible fugitives, so their best option was to play it cool for now. Hope shot her sister a look to remind her to keep a low profile.

"… Welcome, Your Highness." Baba greeted her. "I am the granddaughter of the 155th King of the Kouga Clan. My name is Chagan Shaman."

"I know that name well." Hakuei said with a polite bow to the older woman. "In our country too, there are legends about you. 'The Kouga Clan', the most prosperous 'troopers'. In the past, there was no greater horse-riding tribe. I have heard that the first king, Chagan Han, who 'possessed a power comparable to that of a demon' built the greatest nation in history… and the name of your country, that was one step away from the unification of the world was the 'Great Kouga Empire'." The members of the clan narrowed their eyes at her. "However, in recent years, your nation's power has waned. They even say you've fallen victim to the slave trade." The people bit their lips as they glared at her, mortified that she would dare to bring it up. "Never the less, your suffering ends today." Hakuei continued bravely. "People of the Kouga Clan… Come under our patronage! Be part of our Kou Empire!" she finished grandly.

"_!_!_?"_ Everyone gasped.

"Be part of you_!_?" one of the men asked incredulously.

"We of the Kou Empire have dominated the plains of the far east. In the future, we shall also dominate the lands of the Reim Empire in the west and Partevia in the southwest… In other words, our aim is to 'unify the world'! This is the same dream… that your ancestors pursued! I ask for your help in realizing it. Please, lend us your strength." Hakuei said earnestly.

"The same dream… as our ancestors…" members of the clan began to murmur amongst themselves.

"…" Baba, Aladdin, and the twins stood there, considering everything they had just heard. The arrival of the Kou Empire on their doorstep spelled trouble for everyone involved. You could cut the tension with a knife. Aladdin looked down at his flute.

"What happened? Ugo-kun?" He asked quietly, wondering why the Djinn suddenly seemed restless.

"Maybe they don't understand…" said one of the men standing beside the princess. "You're so high and majestic…"

"Of course they will…" Hakuei told him. Hope frowned. She didn't like the look of that man. He was totally different from the princess and her other attendant. His contempt for the situation was way too obvious. It was like he wasn't even trying to hide it… He was clearly looking down on the clan.

"Hey_!_! Don't speak in such a friendly way." Dorji said grimly. "'Be part of us' means… 'surrender' our village, doesn't it?"

"Doesn't it_!_?"

"It does_!_!"

"Silence_!_!" Baba commanded sternly. "Give us time, Princess. It is not easy to accept this proposal so suddenly. Since our ancestors' time, we have been independent." She stated calmly, doing her best to be diplomatic without surrendering any of their dignity.

"I understand…" said Hakuei.

"…" the rude man behind her frowned.

"Umm… I've poured some horse milk wine, so why don't you come inside and talk calmly with us?" Toya offered politely with a kind smile.

"Oh, thank you." Hakuei said, happy to find someone who was willing to negotiate. But as Toya was handing over one of the bowls on her tray, the rude man suddenly thrust his hand out at Toya's chest and pushed her away harshly with enough force to send her to the ground.

"_!_!_?" _Everyone gasped in shock as she fell to the ground, soaked with spilled milk.

"Are you all right_!_?" Hope asked, kneeling down to check on her. The poor thing looked mortified.

"That bastard…!" Faith cursed under her breath, clenching her fist as vein throbbed on her forehead. It was bad enough that he had pushed Toya, but he had made sure to maximize her embarrassment by gripping her breast as he did it.

"What are you doing_!_?" Hakuei shouted angrily at the man.

"I have a position for such an act. I cannot allow the princess to take things from immigrants." He stated smugly. "In addition, in our country horse milk is compared to a drink for dogs."

'Immigrants…?' Hope thought, frowning deeply. Did he forget whose territory they were in right now? 'As I thought, this man is…'

"Ryosai_!_!" Hakuei said sternly, furrowing her brow in disapproval. They were not there to make enemies. The man frowned.

"You cannot do this just for a negotiation." Ryosai told her before turning to address the rest of those present. "Hey, you_!_! From now on, this village is under the control of the Kou Empire! Submit to our authority at once_!_! Is it not a good trade_!_? We are saving you from this disgusting and stinking life of mud and horseshit_!_!" he sneered loftily, pointing to Toya in her stained dress. Hope narrowed her eyes and glared coldly at the hateful man while she held Toya, who paled, trembling nervously, as she tried to cover herself out of embarrassment and humiliation. Dorji's eyes widened and his pupils constricted with anger when he saw the state she was in. "If you want to know how high the level of human happiness is… then join our empire!" Ryosai finished with a vindictive grin. The next thing he knew, Hope was rushing past him in a blur.

"Hey… You two need to calm down…" Hope said evenly as she stood between Ryosai's back and Dorji and Faith, holding her sister's raised foot in one hand and the spoon she had just used to deflect Dorji's blade in the other.

"Huh_!_?" Ryosai said, looking startled to see just how close he had come to being attacked.

'This girl…!' Hakuei thought, astonished by her speed.

"I know how you feel," Hope continued as they all held their ground, "but striking this man down could be construed as an open invitation to war… Is that what you want?"

"How dare you… insult my family?" Dorji said angrily, glaring straight past her at Ryosai. The hand holding his sword was trembling with rage.

"Stop, Dorji_!_!" Baba said urgently, stepping in to help Hope diffuse the situation before it exploded in their faces.

"You too, Faith." Said Hope calmly, keeping a firm grip on her sister's shoe. "Let it go."

"But _he_…_!_!" Faith said, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"We're guests here. Such an important decision shouldn't be decided by us." Hope reminded her seriously. "Don't cause trouble for our hosts."

"…!" Faith bit her lip and clenched her fists as she finally lowered her leg. Hope was right, she knew that… but it didn't stop her from being pissed off.

"And you…" Hope said lowly. Her face was cast partially in shadow as she turned to face Ryosai. "Princess, forgive me if this sounds rude, but I think before you try to take anyone else under your wing, you might want to take a better look at those already serving you. Coming into someone else's home and insulting their way of life… for someone who claims to be 'higher', you have a really low personality." She told him. "Why don't you try coming back after learning some manners, _sir_?" she requested coolly with enough frost in her voice to freeze a lake solid, standing straight and proud as she lectured the condescending bastard.

"You little…_!_!" Ryosai shouted furiously, raising a hand against her. Faith tensed, getting ready to bury him.

_"Ryosai!_!" Hakuei snapped sternly, stopping him in his tracks. "You will stand down as well. We're leaving now." She ordered firmly. What the girl had said wasn't wrong. As a force seeking peaceful negotiation, this was a shameful way for them to act. And judging by the looks on the faces of the clan members, if they pushed them any more, then they would have a riot on their hands. In order to avoid a violent conclusion to this meeting, they were left with little choice but to withdraw for the moment. Aladdin stared after the princess, watching as she and her entourage left to return to their base.

"I am sorry…" Baba apologized to the twins with a bow. "As you said, Hope, you and your sister are guests here, and yet you have become drawn into our troubles… You stopped Dorji from doing irreparable harm, and you even got angry on our behalf…"

"Please, there's no need for you to feel bad about it. We took action because we wanted to, that's all." Hope reassured her with a kind smile.

"Yeah! That guy was really pissing me off_!_!" Faith muttered moodily, still ticked. "Hmph! But so much for keeping a low profile…"

"Yeah, there's no way they'll forget us now…" Hope said with a chagrined sigh, sweat-dropping. They were so screwed.

"Why did you stop me, Your Highness?" Ryosai demanded later that evening as he confronted Hakuei in her tent. "That was a golden opportunity to bury those damned barbarians. Why let it go to waste?"

"Calm down." Hakuei said patiently. "They are future citizens of the Kou Empire. Let us consider what the best strategy would be."

"Yes!" Seisyun Ri and the rest of the soldiers responded dutifully.

"…_!_!" Ryosai grit his teeth in annoyance.

"I will decide how we should move forward by tomorrow morning." Hakuei said as she stood and moved to leave the tent. "Give rest to the soldiers."

"… She is too kind! The princess does not understand war…" Ryosai bemoaned bitterly once she was out of sight.

"Be careful, Ryosai_!_!" one of the especially loyal high-ranking soldiers snapped at him, while Seisyun listened closely in her absence.

"…" Hakuei paused for a moment outside the tent, having just heard everything. She sighed as she allowed her fatigue to show for a moment. "… I can't. As general, I've got to keep everyone in line!" she scolded herself, clenching her fists as she straightened up again.

"Good evening, onee-san!" Aladdin greeted her from above.

"_!_!_?"_ Hakuei gasped, surprised to see him hovering over her on his magic turban. "Who's there_!_?" she asked nervously as he came lower, preparing to draw her sword. Aladdin grabbed his turban and quickly wrapped it around his head again as he landed before her.

"Hi! I'm Aladdin, a traveler." He greeted her with a friendly smile and a little wave. "Thanks for this afternoon. I'm a little interested in you, onee-san, so I decided to drop by!" He had made up his mind to come without the twins since they seemed to want to avoid being captured.

"…_!_?" Hakuei said, staring at him in astonishment. 'The boy from this afternoon… why is he here?' she wondered. 'More importantly… That cloth… can it be possible…'

"I want to chat with you for a little while… Can I?" Aladdin asked.

"…" Hakuei let out a small sigh as she relaxed and took her hand off her sword. "But of course, young man. There are things I would like to discuss with you as well."


	24. Chapter 24

**Previously:**

_"…" Hakuei paused for a moment outside the tent, having just heard everything. She sighed as she allowed her fatigue to show for a moment. "… I can't. As general, I've got to keep everyone in line!" she scolded herself, clenching her fists as she straightened up again._

_"Good evening, onee-san!" Aladdin greeted her from above._

"_!_!_?"_ _Hakuei gasped, surprised to see him hovering over her on his magic turban. "Who's there!?" she asked nervously as he came lower, preparing to draw her sword. Aladdin grabbed his turban and quickly wrapped it around his head again as he landed before her._

_"Hi! I'm Aladdin, a traveler." He greeted her with a friendly smile and a little wave. "Thanks for this afternoon. I'm a little interested in you, onee-san, so I decided to drop by!" He had made up his mind to come without the twins since they seemed to want to avoid being captured._

"…_!_?"_ Hakuei said, staring at him in astonishment. 'The boy from this afternoon… why is he here?' she wondered. 'More importantly… That cloth… can it be possible…'_

_"I want to chat with you for a little while… Can I?" Aladdin asked._

_"…" Hakuei let out a small sigh as she relaxed and took her hand off her sword. "But of course, young man. There are things I would like to discuss with you as well."_

* * *

**Chapter 24: Slave Hunting**

* * *

Ryosai was just about to retire for the evening when one of his men rushed over to inform him of the arrival of a special message that he had intercepted.

"Sir, this just arrived by falcon! It's from General Ren Kouen himself_!_!" he said urgently.

"Let me see that." Ryosai said, snatching the small scroll from his hands. As Ryosai read, his eyes widened. "This is…_!_!" A smirk grew on his face as he immediately swept off to find the men he had ordered to raid the Kouga village, hoping they hadn't left yet. He had some special instructions for them now.

"Huh? Where's Aladdin?" Faith asked her sister as they were getting ready for bed.

"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen him for a while…" Hope said, glancing around. "Should we look for him?"

"Nah, he probably just went to pee." Faith said with a shrug. "Speaking of which, my bladder could use some relief as well."

"And judging by that look you're giving me, you want me come with you, huh?" Hope said, sweat-dropping.

They hadn't gone very far when they spotted something suspicious.

"Hey, what's that carriage doing here?" Faith asked, wondering why it had been hidden in the shadows.

"_!_?" Hope gasped upon recognizing the design. "That's from the Kou Empire! What on earth…?"

"Don't move!" A deep voice said, causing them to whip their heads around as they immediately went into fight mode. "Say or do anything to alert the men, and I'll slit her throat." The Kou soldier threatened, holding a knife to a very frightened Toya's throat.

"…" The twins frowned in distaste at the man, and reluctantly dropped their fighting stances.

"I take it you're not a child from this village?" Hakuei asked Aladdin as they sat down to talk.

"No, I'm a traveler. Right now, I'm traveling with some friends." Aladdin answered with a smile.

"Just now… that mysterious cloth…"

"This? It's great, right? As long as I've got strength from food in my stomach, I can fly with it! Though it's not all that fast."

"… That's a dungeon item." Hakuei told him.

"Dungeon item?" Aladdin asked, touching his turban.

"Such tools also exist in my country. They have the power to split the earth and fly through the heavens. As you can see, they have powers far exceeding human comprehension. And to get them… one has to come out alive from the 'dungeon'." She explained, pausing for a moment to regard the boy before her once again. "So a child like yourself… got that piece of cloth from a dungeon…?"

"Uh, no. This is something I already had." Aladdin corrected her.

"Already had…?"

"Yeah, back when I left the 'Room of Fortitude'." He said.

"That… is a dungeon?" Hakuei asked.

"Uhm… I'm not sure…" Aladdin replied honestly.

"What a mysterious boy…" Hakuei mused. "What… are you…?"

"I could ask the same of you, onee-san!" said Aladdin.

"Hm?"

"'General' of the 'army'? You know, the ones who invaded the village?" Aladdin said. Hakuei's expression suddenly became much more serious. "If that's the case, then I hope you know when to stop. Otherwise obaa-chan will cry… Obaa-chan taught me about 'family'. She's a good person, and I like her. Please don't kill her." He requested calmly but firmly, staring her straight in the eye.

"…" Hakuei squeezed her hands together, then she and brought them up and held them before her, just as she had done before when addressing Baba earlier. "I have no intention of killing anyone. You have my word." She promised solemnly. Aladdin's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Worry not, boy… My intention is not to invade your village. The world is undergoing changes, ones that will lead to war and danger. Someone has to take responsibility and stabilize things… If someone who has a heart of righteousness would take the world's helm…" Her hands trembled slightly with emotion as she spoke. "Then he would have the power to create a world where no one has to die…! To achieve that, I only need the villagers' cooperation. Please believe me." She finished resolutely with a firm determination shining in her eyes.

"…" Aladdin stared at her for a moment. Then, he smiled. "The rukh around you, onee-san, have no hesitation… so you must really mean it."

"Eh?" Hakuei said, a little surprised. This boy could see rukh?

"Princess, I brought your sleeping attire…" one of her maids said as she came out to check on her, but she was startled to see a strange boy there as well. "Wa_!_? Who is that child_!_?" the maid cried, dropping the clothes in her surprise. Aladdin took that as his cue to leave.

"I get it, onee-san!" he said, grabbing his magic turban to unfurl it again. "I'll tell obaa-chan… about our conversation! See you later! I've still got a lot I want to talk about with you, onee-san… so let's meet again!" Aladdin said with a smile as he flew off into the night.

Once he was a fair distance away from the camp, Aladdin switched from his magic turban to Ugo.

"Ugo-kun…" he said after awhile. "You didn't come out this afternoon when we met that onee-san… or when we met Hope… It's the same as when you first met Alibaba-kun, right?"

"…" Ugo was silent.

"Um, back when we were in the seventh dungeon… and you met that other Djinn… What did you two talk about?" Aladdin asked.

"…"

"Is that so? Don't worry, I already know that you have a lot of things that you cannot answer, so… I will search for my own answers using my intuition!" Aladdin said. "And I have a feeling… that I will find out something in this village." Aladdin was surprised when the rukh suddenly became alert and drew his attention to something on the plain below. "Huh? That carriage… isn't it coming away from the village?"

"I'm back…? What happened?" Aladdin asked when he returned to the village and saw all the men standing around outside, looking worried about something.

"That's…" one man began uneasily.

"All the girls disappeared?" another asked anxiously.

"My daughter too!" said another.

"Dorji! Toya is also gone…" Bator alerted his friend. Dorji's eyes widened in fear for her safety.

"Even those twins sisters are gone!" said Boyan.

"!" Aladdin gasped. Faith and Hope too…? What was going on?

"Hey_!_! Over here_!_!" someone yelled, calling everyone over to see what he had found.

"These are traces of wheels… and a struggle."

"Were they kidnapped?"

"… Just now, I saw two carriages heading towards the Kou Empire camp." Aladdin said, pointing the way.

"_!_!_!"_ Baba gasped in alarm.

"The army_!_? Then… could it be…"

"Slave hunting_!_!" they all exclaimed with a shudder.

"Slave hunting?" Aladdin asked as one man fell to his knees.

"Again_!_?" he cried. "How many times must we experience this anguish_!_? The bigger countries… just snatch our family members like cattle and enslave them for life! Slave hunting…" he sobbed miserably.

"…" As Aladdin stood there listening, he was reminded of the two slaves he had met before, Goltas and Morgiana. His expression hardened as he frowned slightly. Was that going to happen to Faith and Hope…?

"Riders_!_! Chase them_!_!" Baba ordered. "You have to rescue the girls no matter what_!_!"

"Yes_!_!" The men shouted, grabbing their weapons.

"Bastards even mentioned the 'dreams of our forefathers' during the day…" Dorji said angrily, gritting his teeth. "They might speak really poetically, but they're still just big countries with a big agenda! They look down at us and see free labor!"

"Remember, you're forbidden from killing the enemy! War will erupt if you slay even one of them!" Baba said urgently. "Don't worry, they left not long ago. On this plain… Nobody can escape our tribe_!_!" she declared proudly as the men mounted their horses.

'Toya, please be safe…' Dorji thought anxiously.

The twins and Toya were sitting bound and gagged inside one of the carriages with several other girls.

"Hehehe, captured successfully~" one of the soldiers laughed, waving his sword in their faces. "Come on, sir. You gotta admit that this is a steal." He told the slave trader they were working with. "These girls are foreigners who won't die, even if you pierce them with swords… Want to try?" he asked, pressing his blade against Toya's chest.

"…_!_!" she gasped as frightened tears formed in her eyes. He was pressing just hard enough to break the skin. The twins narrowed their eyes and shot the man a warning glare.

"That's a no go." His superior officer told him. "We're going to use them to earn 'future funds'."

"'Future funds'? What do you have in mind, boss?" the soldier asked. His superior smirked.

"Keep having them make us brats! See, it's much more lucrative for us if they keep poppin' out kids!" he said deviously, tapping Toya's womb with his sword. "We're gonna be together for a loooong time, baby…" he leered at her.

"…_!_!" Toya gasped as all the blood drained from her face, horrified. The twins furrowed their brows deeply as angry veins throbbed on their foreheads. That was the last straw for them. The next thing the disgusting perverted bastard knew, their feet were smashing into that smug face of his.

_WHAM!_

"…_!_?" his subordinate and the slave trader gasped in shock, while Toya's eyes widened in astonishment.

"K…_!_! I'm gonna kill you bitches_!_!_!_" the officer shouted furiously, cradling his broken nose. "My sword! Give me my sword_!_!"

"Eh_!_?" his subordinate said, startled. "B-But… didn't you say we had special instructions not to harm these two? Ryosai-sama especially requested…"

"They both match the description, but we only need one!" the officer yelled with multiple veins throbbing on his forehead. "And accidents happen…" he sneered at the twins as the light of the crescent moon gleamed on his blade. The twins glared defiantly at him as beads of nervous sweat slid down the sides of their faces. The carriage was too cramped. They wouldn't be able to get out of their restraints in time to disarm him…

"But… will your general allow this?" The slave trader asked nervously, not wanting to be part of a bloodbath.

"Ain't no big deal… our princess doesn't know a thing about fighting!" the officer said carelessly.

"Leader! Leader!" his subordinate said urgently. "Trouble's brewing! Look…" he said, pointing out the back window.

"Huh…?" the officer said, turning to see what all the fuss was about. Every single man of the Kouga Clan was coming after them in full force, galloping towards them at a break-neck pace.

"They're from the Kouga! They've caught up with us!"

"What did you say_!_?" the officer demanded, turning his back on the twins completely, throwing open the back doors. "Shoot 'em down, boys!" he ordered. "Then we can just sweep up the dead!" The Kou soldiers fired a volley of arrows at the troopers, but the Kouga horses dodged swiftly.

"_!_?" The soldiers gasped.

"So… So fast…!"

"I can't nail 'em!" the officer cried in alarm. "Why can't any arrows hit them_!_?" He was further startled when his two of his men were suddenly kicked out the back of the carriage by the twins. Faith head-butted the third, while Hope tucked and rolled to pull her hands around over her feet so she could start untying them. While soldiers were distracted by the arrival of the cavalry, the Hope had started working on her sister's restraints. "You…_!_?" he shouted furiously, reaching for his sword, but Faith quickly kicked it out of his hands.

"…_!_!" Hope and Toya exclaimed, rolling out of the way just in the nick of time as it embedded itself in the floor of the carriage between them. Hope shot her sister a look for that, while a chagrined Faith looked away to avoid making eye contact with her.

"Hey… bastard…" Dorji said darkly, alerting the officer to the fact that he was now right behind him.

"…_!_!" the officer paled in shock as he spun around to face him.

"Don't underestimate the Kouga Clan_!_!_!_" Dorji roared angrily, glaring fiercely at the rotten scoundrel with his sword in hand.

Meanwhile, Aladdin and Baba were bringing up the rear. Aladdin was riding on Ugo's shoulders while Baba took the magic carpet. Ugo was doing his best to keep up with the troopers, but even the giant Djinn was having trouble matching their speed. Baba stared at the boy in amazement. She had no idea he could summon a Djiinn or control a magic turban like this.

"Aladdin, what on earth are you?" she asked.


	25. Chapter 25

**Previously:**

_"I can't nail 'em!" the officer cried in alarm. "Why can't any arrows hit them!_?"_ He was further startled when his two of his men were suddenly kicked out the back of the carriage by the twins. Faith head-butted the third, while Hope tucked and rolled to pull her hands around over her feet so she could start untying them. While soldiers were distracted by the arrival of the cavalry, the Hope had started working on her sister's restraints. "You…!?" he shouted furiously, reaching for his sword, but Faith quickly kicked it out of his hands._

"…_!_!" _Hope and Toya exclaimed, rolling out of the way just in the nick of time as it embedded itself in the floor of the carriage between them. Hope shot her sister a look for that, while a chagrined Faith looked away to avoid making eye contact with her._

_"Hey… bastard…" Dorji said darkly, alerting the officer to the fact that he was now right behind him._

"…_!_!" _the officer paled in shock as he spun around to face him._

_"Don't underestimate the Kouga Clan!_!_!_" _Dorji roared angrily, glaring fiercely at the rotten scoundrel with his sword in hand._

_Meanwhile, Aladdin and Baba were bringing up the rear. Aladdin was riding on Ugo's shoulders while Baba took the magic carpet. Ugo was doing his best to keep up with the troopers, but even the giant Djinn was having trouble matching their speed. Baba stared at the boy in amazement. She had no idea he could summon a Djiinn or control a magic turban like this._

_"Aladdin, what on earth are you?" she asked._

* * *

**Chapter 25: Legend**

* * *

"Don't make light of the Kouga Clan_!_!" Dorji yelled, grabbing the officer in charge by the front of his shirt, while the rest of the men took care of the fallen soldiers and captured the second carriage.

"Damn it! Damn it! Don't come any closer, scoundrel_!_!" the officer cried as Dorji raised his sword for the kill. But then he froze mid swing when Baba's words from flashed through his mind.

_If you kill the enemy soldiers, it'll turn into a war!_

"That's right, calm down!" the officer exclaimed nervously, taking advantage of his moment of hesitation to get away. "Otherwise, I'm not sure what'll become of this little miss here!" he said, grabbing Toya by her hair while he held a knife to her throat. Dorji's eyes widened when he saw the state she was in. He had never seen Toya so terrified before. She was shaking violently. Tears were streaming down her face, new mingling with old. She was dirty, and the top of her dress had been partially ripped open. On her chest was a small cut that was still bleeding. His pupils constricted as something inside of him snapped.

"Die_!_!" Dorji snarled furiously, raising his sword to cut the hateful man down. But before he could even realize what he was doing, the knife was pulled away from Toya's throat, and the officer was skidding on the ground as he landed flat on his face a couple feet away. The culprit was Faith. Dorji froze in shock as he suddenly realized what was happening and what he had been about to do.

"I've enough of your crap, asshole_!_!_!_" Faith shouted angrily as she ran over to finish what she had started, slamming her foot into the officer's back when he tried to get up. "Shouldn't you have a license for being that ugly_!_?_!_ I hope all your bacon burns—_forever!_!_!_" she ranted as she repeatedly kicked him over and over again, stomping mercilessly on his face.

"Faith… _Faith!_!" Hope shouted, having just finished untying the other girls.

"Wut_!_?" Faith snapped, giving one more stomp for good measure before turning to look at her sister. She suddenly realized the fighting had stopped, and everyone else was staring at her rather awkwardly.

"Um, I think you got him." Hope said, sweat-dropping, as she pointed out the sorry state her opponent was in. He was barely breathing and looked just about ready to assume room temperature. "Any more and you'll kill him… and we don't want that, do we?" she reminded her sister pointedly.

"… We don't?" Faith asked with a frown, furrowing her brow slightly. "Oh." She glanced back at the officer and stared down at him for a moment. "… 'Future funds' _this!_!" she yelled, stomping down on his crotch with all her might, grinding in her heel.

_"GYAAAAAAAAaaaaaaah….!_!_!_!_!_" The man's scream of anguish echoed across the plains. The pain was so intense he lost consciousness.

"Phew~!" Faith said with a satisfied smile as she wiped the sweat from her brow, looking extremely refreshed. "Okay, I feel a lot better! Ah, but I seriously need to pee now…" she said, sweat-dropping as it suddenly hit her how long she had been holding it in, since they had grabbed her before she could do her business. "I guess I'll just go in the carriage!" she said, hopping up into the empty vehicle for some privacy. Nothing like adding insult to injury! Hope also sweat-dropped, smiling wryly, as she shook her head at her sister's antics. Faith was such a honey badger…

'S-Scary…_!_!' all the men present thought as they watched and beads of sweat slid down the sides of their faces.

"Huh…? What should we do?" Aladdin asked worriedly. "We lost sight of onii-san and the others. And I think I heard a scream just now…"

"That's no good. Stop, Aladdin." Baba said calmly. "My eyes can't see, and yours can't read the stars. The plain is vast, so we'll end up getting lost. We will wait for Dorji and the others from a position where we can see the fire of the village."

"But…" Aladdin said hesitantly, worried about Faith and Hope.

"It'll be all right. They're all soldiers with the gallant heart of the Kouga. I'm certain of it, they'll rescue the girls safely." She reassured him with a gentle smile. "Believe in them."

"… Okay." Aladdin said, deciding to trust her. Ugo went back into his flute, and Aladdin put his turban back on while he and Baba sat down and waited for the others to return.

"However, you really are a strange child, Aladdin." Baba said after a moment.

"Am I?"

"That's right. Using giants, controlling the rukh… It's almost as if… You're the 'magi' from the legend." Baba said with a smile. Aladdin immediately perked up upon hearing that.

"Obaa-chan, you know about the 'magi'?" he asked, taken aback.

"I know all about it." she replied calmly.

"I may be that 'magi'." Aladdin said, sitting up. "That's what I was told by the other Djinn in the dungeon. He said I was supposed to select a king…" Baba stared at him in surprise. "Tell me, what is the 'magi'? I'm searching for who I really am_!_!" he said urgently.

"… All right." Baba agreed with a nod. "I'll will tell you one story from folklore.

"Folklore?" Aladdin asked.

"Yep. It's a legend that's remained in the village of the Kouga Clan." Baba explained. "The story goes like this… A very, very long time ago… there were no 'countries' in this world. Natural disasters, starvation, plague… the people suffered with no way of standing up to the threats of the world. However, a mysterious young man appeared there. He erased the natural disasters with his magic staff. And then, to the astonished and grateful people he declared thus: 'Humans build a country. Each of you are weak, and must unite and support each other if you wish to live on. If you do, you will be blessed with days of tranquility.' The people nodded and agreed, and the young man waved his staff once more. As he did… a great tower appeared from within the earth. The young man said this: 'The one who wishes to be king shall enter here. If you overcome the trials within, you will gain the power to become king.' Many people entered the tower. Finally, one boy came back. He held many treasures… and a strange power… The boy became king, and built a great, great country. The people were blessed with tranquil days. The people, led to peace by the 'mysterious young man', gave him respect and called him… the 'magi'."

"Magi…" Aladdin said.

"Yes, that is the 'magi'… Then, the great country that was created, was our native country, called the Great Kouga Empire… Did that help?" Baba asked.

"… Yeah…" Aladdin said quietly, looking down. "I see… so that's what a 'magi' is…" Baba watched him thoughtfully for a moment.

"Incidentally, Aladdin, you said you wanted to know who you are… why not ask your parents?" she asked.

"No, I don't have any parents..." Aladdin said, hugging his knees.

"… Fine," said Baba, "then you are now… Aladdin, 'child of Baba'." Aladdin looked up at her in surprise.

"Do you have no friends either?" she asked.

"No, I've got some! There's Faith and Hope, and Ugo and Alibaba!" he answered brightly.

"Then you are Aladdin, 'friend of Faith, Hope, Ugo, and Alibaba'. Ho ho ho, how strange~" Baba said with a smile. "This old woman knew who you were that well?" Aladdin smiled happily, suddenly feeling as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He wasn't alone.

"… Yeah." Aladdin said, bowing his head and nodding. "Thanks, obaa-chan." He told her with renewed determination in his eyes as he raised his head again, standing up. "Say, obaa-chan! Earlier, I met with the princess from the Kou Empire, and we promised that there'd be no killing. That's why, a war like the kind you're worrying about won't happen, obaa-chan. It's all right." He promised confidently.

"…_!_?" Baba gasped in astonishment. "You… Did you really…?"

"Oh, look! Onii-san's come back…" Aladdin said, pointing to the approaching riders. They had Toya, Faith, Hope, and many other girls with them.

"Baba-sama—! Everyone is safe!" Dorji called out excitedly as they galloped over to meet them. "We saved them without killing a single enemy!" Baba's eyes widened in amazement, while Aladdin smiled. The twins and the others were all right. Everything had happened just as she said it would. Dorji stopped his horse and helped Toya down so she could run to embrace her grandmother, and both women cried in relief. Faith and Hope smiled as they hopped down and ruffled Aladdin's hair.

"Sorry if we scared you, but everything's all right now!" they reassured him. Aladdin grabbed their hands and smiled.

"That time… I remembered your words, Baba-sama." Said Dorji. "If we killed any of them, there would be a war. If that happened, we couldn't keep living together as we've always done… Since that's no good…"

"…" Baba stared up at them and the brave expressions on their young faces. They had all been through so much… They were all so grown up now…

_PAF!_!

"That's right, Dorji_!_!" Baba said, giving him a good, affectionate smack on the back. "Everything went well_!_!"

"That hurts, Baba-sama!" Dorji said, wincing with a wry smile. The twins and a few of the other chuckled.

"We will submit to the empire." Baba announced, surprising them. "In the war to defend our clan's pride… an uncountable number of our brethren have perished. No matter what the reason, people die when war occurs… What is it that we must protect? The country? Our pride? No! What we must protect is our lives_!_!" she stated with a burning resolve and determination. "No matter what happens, we cannot wage war_!_! All of you, wage a war in your hearts to survive, so that we may all live together as a clan!"

"…_!_!" Dorhi and the others gasped. "Yes_!_!" they responded determinedly. Aladdin and Hope smiled.

"Hey… is it really okay for them to give up like this?" Faith whispered, frowning slightly.

"They aren't giving up, Faith. They're just starting over, and you and I both know that takes a lot of courage." Hope said, taking her sister by the hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Well, then, let's go home!" one of the men said.

"Please, wait!" said Toya. "The other women are late! We don't have enough horses…"

"I'll return to the village and get supplies!" Dorji said. "Everyone, please wait here for a short while!"

"All right!" they all agreed.

"Wow~! Amazing, it's so warm!" Aladdin said happily, warming his hands with the twins by the bonfire everyone made.

"Dorji, thank you for saving me… You were so cool…" Toya said, blushing as she rested her head on his shoulder. Dorji blushed all the way to his ears, and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Baba and the twins grinned when they saw this.

"Become a man, Dorji." Baba told him with a sly look in her eyes and a big Cheshire cat grin plastered on her face.

"Your face looks weird, Baba-sama!" Dorji yelled, taking a swipe at the old woman, while he and Toya blushed shyly in embarrassment.

"Hohoho, hurry up and make me some great grandchildren, Dorji." Baba laughed as she dodged. Aladdin, the twins, and the rest of the clan laughed good-naturedly as the young couple blushed even harder.

"Where are you going?" Dorji asked as Baba moved to leave the circle around the fire. Was she trying to run away?

"Oh, to pee! To pee! I'll leave you alone for a bit_!_!" Baba said with a cheeky grin as she kept walking. She smiled at the sound of her family's laughter echoing through the night. 'What… was I hesitating for?' she wondered, stopping to stare up at the crescent moon. 'Making the country, fighting for hegemony, that was the duty of the past king. Now, my only duty is to keep the family alive… Yes, until I see the faces of my beloved children's great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren… I have to survive, along with everyone else…' She thought with a smile.

_SHWIP!_

Baba's eyes widened in shock and pain when an arrow suddenly pierced her back, and she collapsed to the ground, bleeding.

"I wonder… when obaa-chan's coming back…" Aladdin said with a smile, waiting patiently for her to return.


	26. Chapter 26

**Previously:**

_"Where are you going?" Dorji asked as Baba moved to leave the circle around the fire. Was she trying to run away?_

_"Oh, to pee! To pee! I'll leave you alone for a bit!" Baba said with a cheeky grin as she kept walking. She smiled at the sound of her family's laughter echoing through the night. 'What… was I hesitating for?' she wondered, stopping to stare up at the crescent moon. 'Making the country, fighting for hegemony, that was the duty of the past king. Now, my only duty is to keep the family alive… Yes, until I see the faces of my beloved children's great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren… I have to survive, along with everyone else…' She thought with a smile._

_SHWIP!_

_Baba's eyes widened in shock and pain when an arrow suddenly pierced her back, and she collapsed to the ground, bleeding._

_"I wonder… when obaa-chan's coming back…" Aladdin said with a smile, waiting patiently for her to return._

* * *

**Chapter 26: War**

* * *

"Eh, where is Baba-sama?" Boyan asked when he noticed she still hadn't come back to the circle.

"I don't know." Dorji said. "Toya and the others have gone out to find her."

"Obaa-chan… Where are you…?" Aladdin called out as he searched for Baba with Toya.

"Maybe obaa-chan is waiting for us to call her?" Toya suggested with a smile. Aladdin laughed at that. It sounded like Baba could be quite silly.

"Ahh!" Aladdin was startled when he heard someone cry out in alarm.

"Help! Someone help_!_!" the twins yelled, waving Faith's phone to use the light to signal the others. "It's Baba…_!_!" Aladdin and Toya immediately ran over to see what was wrong.

"Waahh_!_!" They cried when they saw the state she was in.

"Obaa-chan! Quick, find some people and come here_!_!_!"_ Toya shouted frantically.

"On it_!_!" Faith said, sprinting off to get more help, while Hope stayed behind, doing her best to keep pressure on Baba's wound and slow bleeding.

"Obaa-chan_!_!_!_" Aladdin and Toya cried as they dropped to their knees beside her body.

"Don't worry, she's still alive!" Hope said urgently. "She's still breathing, and her pulse is fairly steady… but she's losing a lot of blood…"

"There is a lot of blood!" one of the men shouted as they came rushing over to help. "This arrow… exactly who was it…_!_?"

"…_!_!" Dorji gasped when he recognized the fletching. It was the same as the arrows the Kou Empire had been using earlier! "Is it them_!_? Where are they_!_?" he asked, looking around to search for signs of the enemy's presence.

"Hey, forget that for now!" Hope told him. "Baba-sama is still alive! Bring her to the village quickly, and treat her wounds! And don't shake her, if you can help it_!_!_!"_ Aladdin immediately ripped off his magic turban and summoned Ugo.

"Let me carry her_!_!_!_" he said anxiously. "Fly_!_!_!_ Magic turban_!_!_!_" Two strong men helped to carefully move Baba onto the magic turban, and then everyone who could mounted a horse. 'Obaa-chan, please don't die_!_!_!' _he begged silently as they raced back to the village.

On the other side, at the base of the army of the Kou Empire…

"You all! What happened_!_?" Hakuei asked anxiously when the party of soldiers who had participated in the attempted slave hunting staggered into her tent around dawn. She was especially startled to see how bad their superior officer's condition was. His face had been so severely beaten that he was almost unrecognizable.

"Reporting to the general!" He said urgently. "When I was guarding the surrounding campsite… the Kouga clan attacked us all of a sudden!" he lied. "I barely escaped…"

"How could this be_!_?" Hakuei asked, taken aback.

"It's like I said earlier!" said Ryosai. "The opponents are barbarians, negotiations are meaningless! We do not have to negotiate with them again! We should destroy them once and for all_!_!_!_" he shouted, slamming his hand against her desk.

"No, I suggest that we should continue negotiating till the end…" Hakuei said earnestly as a bead of sweat slid down the side of her face. Something about this didn't feel right. "Now, I will go to the Kouga village to get a clearer understanding of the situation. Let's go, Seishun!"

"General Hakuei, you can't make that decision all by yourself." Ryosai said sternly, stopping her as she prepared to leave. "Although you are the first princess, you are actually the former emperor's daughter. You were only given your rank as general as a favor from the current emperor." He reminded her with a disdainful look in his eyes. "Since the emperor ordered me to watch over you, forgive me for not conniving to the general's unauthorized action…" Hakuei furrowed her brow and clenched her fist.

"I understand…" she said. "Therefore… I won't use the identity of the general whom you need to keep watch over. I'll use my personal identity to negotiate with them." She declared as she turned away to leave.

"Hakuei-sama_!_!_!_" Ryosai yelled sternly, but she didn't stop.

"My father was assassinated by the rump from the country that my father had invaded… No, it was revenge against him. Domination by military force will only give rise to retribution. What truly captures a person's heart isn't military force… but a sublime ideal_!_!_!_" she stated strongly, pausing only to glance back at him with smoldering determination.

"…" Ryosai frowned. "If that's the case, I'll not stop you again… but when you are not around, who will take charge of the army?" he asked pointedly. "Will you temporarily let me take over? Is that fine?"

"Very well." Hakuei answered as she turned away again, feeling she had little choice. "I leave things to you, Ryosai."

"Yes!" Ryosai and the other soldiers responded dutifully with a bow. But as the princess left the tent with Seishun, Ryosai smirked deviously.

Meanwhile, the twins (who had some very decent first aid training) and Aladdin had been doing their best to help the healer care for Baba and comfort her while he worked on her wound. Without anesthetic, it was probably for the best that she had passed out when the pain became too intense.

"I've done all I can for her, but…" the man said regretfully, clenching his fists. But the wound was fatal. It was only a matter of time… "Stay here." he told the children, grabbing the arrow he had removed from her back as he swept from the tent to address everyone who had been waiting anxiously outside.

"The arrow that injured Baba-sama is the same as the arrows used by the Kou Empire when they kidnapped the women." They heard the older man announce. "Do we submit to the Kou Empire, or do we wage war against them?"

"We should fight against them till the end!" one man shouted furiously. "First they hunted us as slaves, and now they've ambushed Baba-sama. There's no reason to take this anymore!" He was angry. They were _all_ angry. And they were scared.

"That's right!" another man agreed. "For the sake of our clan's future, we have to wage war with them_!_!"

"…" Dorji and the younger adults furrowed their brows and paled, sweating nervously as they watched their seniors panic and lose to their rage. "But—!" he said, clenching his fist.

"But what, Dorji?" one of the older men asked sternly.

"Baba-sama said that no matter what happens, we shouldn't resort to war_!_!_! _That we should have a psychological battle in our hearts for the sake of our survival…" Dorji said anxiously.

"But the Kou Empire clearly has no such intentions! Now the only option left is war!" the man retorted angrily. "Even you all were almost caught as slaves just now!" he added, point at Toya and the other girls.

"…_!_!" Dorji gasped, clenching his teeth as he furrowed his brow, feeling extremely conflicted.

"…" Aladdin and the twins frowned and furrowed their brows with worry as they listened to the commotion happening outside.

"This is bad…" Hope said, biting her lip. They were too agitated to listen to reason. She doubted they would listen to a couple of outsiders when they wouldn't even listen to one of their own.

"Understatement of the year…" said Faith with a frown.

'Obaa-chan… Obaa-chan's favorite village has a big problem now… What should I do?' Aladdin wondered as he stared down at the old woman lying on the bed. Her breathing was extremely labored, and she was sweating heavily. There were dark circles under her eyes, tracks of tearstains on her cheeks, and a small blood smear still clung to the corner of her mouth. You didn't have to be a healer to know that she didn't have much time left.

"Fight to protect the glory of our clan!" the men shouted as they armed themselves, roaring furiously.

"Hey…" Aladdin said as he stepped out of the tent with the girls, stopping Dorji and his friends. "Do you really plan on waging a war?" he asked anxiously. "Is it really good that way?"

"Aladdin!" Dorji exclaimed as he was swept away by the angry mob.

_"For the sake of our clan!"_ the mob yelled as they hurried away. Only Aladdin and the twins remained. Suddenly, Aladdin turned and ran back inside the tent.

"I'm borrowing this for a while, obaa-chan!" Aladdin said, grabbing her staff, before running back out.

"Ah, hey! Aladdin! Where're you going_!_?" Hope asked when he started following after the warriors.

"That staff…! Don't tell me you're gonna fight too_!_?" Faith said, furrowing her brow as she remembered how he had fought using one in Amon's dungeon.

"No, I need you two to stay here and take care of obaa-chan for me! I've gotta stop this war_!_!" he said anxiously, flying away on his turban before they could stop him.

"Aladdin_!_!" Hope shouted after him, while Faith let out a sigh.

"Looks like the shit's really hit the fan, huh?" Faith commented.

"Geez! Why does he think he has to do something so dangerous on his own? I know he's amazing and all, but he's still just a kid! He could rely on us a little more." Hope said worriedly with a huff.

"You're one to talk." Faith remarked, sweat-dropping. This was totally a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Hope asked.

"Nothing, nevermind. Just forget I said anything…" Faith told her, sweat-dropping again. '… You damn pot.' she added mentally, chagrined. Hope was really sharp when it came to others, but sometimes she could be annoyingly dense when it came to herself.

"Hope, Faith…" Baba called out softly to them. Their eyes widened slightly in surprise as they turned to face her. "Please, help me…" The twins exchanged a glance, clenched their fists, and nodded, knowing she was probably their only hope of putting a stop to this without bloodshed.

At the same time, in the base of the army of the Kou Empire…

"General Hakuei really went, didn't she? Now you could temporarily take command of the whole army! Ryosai-sama!" the officer involved in the slave hunting said.

"…" Ryosai smirked while he polished his sword.

"But to let that woman talk with the Kouga Clan… Won't there be a problem? The slave hunting and the assault on their elder… she'll learn of these things… When that woman comes back we'll have problems."

"Hmm, that is _if_ she comes back from the village alive." Said Ryosai.

"Sir, what do you mean by that?"

"... Hmm… I'm really worried… about the princess." Ryosai said, lowering his head as he leaned against his sword so they couldn't see the expression on his face. "… If the angry clan, who has suffered from slave hunting and the shooting of their elder… might've already killed the princess before she could come back…"

"…_!_!" the soldiers gasped. No way… to a member of the royal family…_!_?

"Everything you did… Was it all for this to happen_!_?" asked the officer, alarmed. It would be their heads if they got caught! "Just why…?"

"Why?" Ryosai said. "Because I like it… the idiots who say that they hate war… becoming outraged, revealing their true natures… and killing each other… will create war." Ryosai grinned deviously as he admired the sharp, gleaming edge of his sword. "And war is what I enjoy!"

"I do not think the Kouga Clan wishes to start a war." Hakuei told Seishun as they galloped towards the village.

"Why do you think so, princess?" he asked.

"Because… last night, there was an inconceivable youngster who told me so…" she replied, recalling how Aladdin had appeared before her.

"Eh… So such a thing happened?" Seishun asked, surprised. "Is that youngster also a dungeon capturer?"

"… I don't know, but… I feel that I can trust him."

"If the princess thinks like that, then so will I. But, if the youngster is also a capturer… there might be a reason for the meeting between him and the princess. A connection as fellow dungeon capturers…"

"…" Hakuei was silent for a moment as she pondered that. "For now, let's negotiate with the Kouga Clan." She said as they reached the outskirts of the village. It was appeared eerily empty when they arrived.

"That's strange…" Seishun said as they dismounted their horses, furrowing his brow in confusion. "I don't see any of the villagers." While looking around, they failed to notice the archers hiding on the roofs of the yurts surrounding them.

"_!_?" Hakuei and Seishun gasped, alarmed when several arrows shot into the ground near their feet. Their eyes widened when they realized that they had been surrounded by the rest of the warriors in an instant.

"How dare you hurt the people from our village yesterday!" one of the Kouga men shouted angrily. "We won't be fooled by your pacifist acts any longer!"

"_!_?" said Hakuei, taken aback. "Just what are you talking about?" she asked, confused.

"…" Aladdin furrowed his brow and frowned as he watched everything from a rocky ridge overlooking the village. He grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on Baba's staff and began gathering more rukh. "I can't let the people of the village fight." He said determinedly. "You, lend me your strength…"


	27. Chapter 27

**Previously:**

_"That's strange…" Seishun said as they dismounted their horses, furrowing his brow in confusion. "I don't see any of the villagers." While looking around, they failed to notice the archers hiding on the roofs of the yurts surrounding them._

"_!_?" _Hakuei and Seishun gasped, alarmed when several arrows shot into the ground near their feet. Their eyes widened when they realized that they had been surrounded by the rest of the warriors in an instant._

_"How dare you hurt the people from our village yesterday!" one of the Kouga men shouted angrily. "We won't be fooled by your pacifist acts any longer!"_

"_!_?" _said Hakuei, taken aback. "Just what are you talking about?" she asked, confused._

_"…" Aladdin furrowed his brow and frowned as he watched everything from a rocky ridge overlooking the village. He grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on Baba's staff and began gathering more rukh. "I can't let the people of the village fight." He said determinedly. "You, lend me your strength…"_

* * *

**Chapter 27: The Home of Souls**

* * *

"Aladdin, give me back my staff." Baba said calmly.

"Eh?" Aladdin said, immediately whipping his head around to look behind him. "_!_!" he gasped in surprise when he saw that she was really there, along with Hope and Faith, who were panting from having to basket-carry the old woman all the way over to him.

"Calm down, we just came to negotiate!" Seishun said urgently, standing back to back with the princess while the Kouga men kept them surrounded. Both of them had drawn their swords to defend themselves.

"Do not deceive us_!_!" one of the men yelled furiously. "Yesterday, you pretended you had come to negotiate, and then you hunted us as slaves and even attacked Baba-sama_!_! We won't be fooled again_!_!"

'What are they talking about_!_?' Seishun wondered anxiously. 'They're too blinded by their rage to listen to us! What are you going to do, princess_!_?' He gasped, flinching in shock, as one of the men rushed forward to attack her. Hakuei didn't even flinch when his blade slashed her shoulder and leg.

"_!_?" the man gasped, shocked, as she stood there resolutely. "She didn't divert it_!_?"

"We do not want war." Hakuei said with calm determination. "To know the truth about what happened yesterday… please allow time for negotiation!"

"Ugh…" The man said uneasily, taking a step back. Could it be… they had made a mistake?

"Don't be fooled!" another man shouted. "It's the same trick from yesterday, kill her!"

"Stop, you fools_!_!_!_" Baba yelled, causing them all to flinch in shock.

"Ba—Baba-sama…" They gasped as they looked up in the direction they had heard her voice coming from, and saw her standing on the ridge with Aladdin and the twins. She fixed all of the men with a stern glare as she stared back down at them. Beads of nervous sweat slid down the sides of their faces. Everyone fell silent. "Don't pretend to be stupid_!_!_!_" Baba continued fiercely, trembling from the effort of standing as she leaned on her staff, while she scolded her family. "Do you really call yourselves Kouga_!_!_?_"

"…" Aladdin and the twins watched worriedly as blood flowed from the reopened wound in her back.

"… Don't forget what it is that you really need to protect… or what kind of battle you need to wage for it…" Baba said as she slowly and carefully made her way down the steps carved into the ridge, ignoring the pain and trail of dripping blood that she was leaving behind. The men moved out of her way as she marched straight over to the princess. Baba stared at her for moment before placing a hand over her heart and dropping to her knees in a respectful bow as a sign of allegiance. "Our clan will become part of the Kou Empire." Baba pledged solemnly, causing the others to gasp in shock.

"We'll join it…_!_?"

"But… Baba-sama! If we join this empire, our clan will be annihilated!"

"As you can see for yourself, Your Highness…" Baba continued. "Our clan is heavily damaged, both physically and mentally, from long years of invasions and slave hunting. I will not allow my family to get hurt anymore… I even thought about the possibility of going to battle with your country… However, a certain child told me that you, who represents the empire, does not intend to destroy our clan and is a trustworthy person…" Hakuei's eyes widened slightly as she looked up at the ridge and saw Aladdin. "So I thought we would submit ourselves to you."

"Baba-sama…" Boyan said worriedly as he and Dorji watched the puddle of blood at her feet grow increasingly larger with horrified expressions on their faces, and her trembling worsened. "Your wound…"

"But… that is not an ordinary wound…" Hakuei said, clenching her fist as she observed the serious condition the elder was in. "It must have been caused by one of my subordinates after all…"

"Princess_!_!" Baba said firmly. "I do not care about that. Between the life of one village chief and an entire population, you know what is most important, don't you?" she asked gravely. Hakuei furrowed her brow.

"I understand…" she said, bowing her head. 'Of course I understand your intentions…" The princess raised her head again with renewed determination. "From now on_!_! The Kouga Clan will be under the protection of the Kou Empire, on behalf of Ren Hakuei_!_!" she declared boldly. She would not let the elder's selfless sacrifice be in vain.

"But… now we'll throw away our pride and enter another empire…" one of the men said miserably, echoing the thoughts of many of the older members of the clan.

"That doesn't matter_!_!" said Dorji. "It doesn't matter where we'll be, all we have to do is continue to hold onto the pride in our hearts! Just like Baba-sama… Don't you get it yet_!_?" he said urgently.

"…" Boyan and Bator furrowed their brows and stiffened their jaws with determination upon hearing that.

"So, Kouga_!_!" said Baba. "Show me your intentions_!_!_!_"

Aladdin and the twins watched as one after another, all of the men dropped their weapons and kneeled before the princess to show their surrender. Many shed tears over the end of their current life, and they all held some portion of fear towards the unknown future that awaited them. But not one of them wavered.

"Isn't it amazing, Ugo-kun…?" Aladdin asked the Djinn in his flute quietly. "They all have the courage to choose the way forward. We didn't need do anything…"

With everything brought to a peaceful conclusion, their next priority was of course treating the wounded.

"Baba-sama_!_!_?"_ Everyone cried in alarm when the old woman finally allowed herself to collapse after overexerting herself.

"Y'all go ahead and be with Baba-sama!" Hope told Aladdin and the Kouga Clan. "Leave patching the princess up to us."

"Damn it…_!_!" Faith cursed in frustration as they watched them quickly carry her back to her tent with help from Aladdin's magic turban, clenching her fist.

"I know…" Hope said, placing hand on her shoulder. "But there's nothing more we can do for her… At least they'll all get the chance to say goodbye. And I don't think Baba-sama will have any regrets…" She hoped Aladdin would be all right. He had gotten really attached…

"Baba-sama!" Dorji said urgently as he and the youngsters crowded around her bed with the healer.

"Baba-sama, hold on_!_!" said one of the girls.

"Obaa-chan!" Toya cried, clutching her hand.

"I… shall leave the village the way I said before…" Baba said weakly through labored breath. "… I have nothing to leave behind… no regrets…"

"Baba-sama guided us with the last of her strength…" the healer said. His voice was thick, and his lower lip trembled.

"Obaa-chan…" Toya said, shaking, as tears streamed down her face. "Obaa-chan_!_?" she cried, alarmed when Baba didn't answer, and she realized her hand was beginning to feel cold.

"Baba-sama…!" They all sobbed mournfully while Aladdin watched quietly from the back of the tent with a solemn expression on his young face. He had never seen someone die before…

"…?" he said, surprised when Baba's body began to glow, and the energy from within began to rise up and leave, breaking up into little chittering particles of rukh.

"Rukh is the home of souls." He heard Baba's voice echo through his mind. Aladdin immediately spun around when he sensed something behind him.

"_!_?" he gasped when he saw that it was none other than Baba, though she was now only a spirit made up of rukh. He physical body was still lying on the bed, surrounded by her grandchildren and the rest of her family.

"What happened, Aladdin?" Baba asked with a smile. "Why are you standing way back here all by yourself?"

"…" Aladdin continued to stare at her, stunned. "Obaa-chan… you died…" he told her solemnly. "They are all crying… Everyone loved you..."

"You say that so indifferently!" Baba laughed. "What about you, Aladdin?"

"…" Aladdin squeezed his arm. "I also loved you very much." He said, managing a small smile for her. "But I don't have as many memories with you as they do… So I'm going…" he trailed off as his few but precious memories of being with her flashed through his mind, especially the night when she had called him her child.

"That is not true." Baba said softly with an affectionate smile. "We have many memories too."

"… Yes…" Aladdin said quietly, looking down. He had to bite his lip to keep it from trembling.

"Hey, Aladdin, you actually think that you are alone, don't you?" she asked, causing him to look up again. "This is not true. Now that I am in this form, I finally understand you… as well as those sisters…"

"… What?"

"I thought they were a little strange, and now I know why… those two come from another world, don't they? One that is governed by a different set of 'laws', and you're worried they'll eventually end up leaving you, right? But I think the three of you were meant to meet." Baba said with a smile. She could tell that their bodies were already beginning to adapt to the rules of this world. "But even if they were to leave, well… look there." She said, pointing at everyone gathered around her bed.

"_!_?" Aladdin gasped when he realized he could see the same energy glowing around each and every person.

"Each living thing is a single entity by itself, but the source of all things is gathered into one. It is what brings together and connects all souls, the blood of the world… This is rukh. An you, who are loved by the rukh that connects all people and able to borrow their power… you are a magi… Someone who, living together with these millions of other lives, guides them and creates worlds!" Baba explained as her form gradually became less solid. "… So you are not alone." She said with a grin, giving him one last pat on the head. Aladdin gasped and reached for her as she started to float away. "Beloved child of Solomon… I shall always be with you." She promised, flying off to join the rest of the rukh.

"… And that's what happened…" Hope said as she tied a knot in the Hakuei's bandages, having just finished telling her everything that had transpired the previous evening. "Baba said she didn't care about it, because she was more worried about protecting her family than getting revenge… But I thought you should know, for your own safety. Because if anything happens to you, then you can't protect them."

"Yeah, I really wouldn't put it past those jerks to try to make it look like you had some kind of 'tragic accident' in order to avoid being found out and/or punished." Faith added with a scowl. Just thinking about it pissed her off. Personally, she'd like to see the guy responsible drawn and quartered.

"Yes, so please, be careful." Hope advised the princess and Seishun as they saw them off. "There's no telling how many other people Ryosai has in his pocket."

"… I understand." Hakuei said grimly as they mounted their horses and rode off, in a hurry to regain control of the army. "Thank you for telling me!"

"I hope she kicks his ass." Faith said seriously as they watched them ride away.

"Yeah, me too…" Hope agreed. "Come on, let's go check on the others." When they entered Baba's tent, they found it flooded with crying clansmen. The twins didn't have to ask why. It was obvious from the grief-stricken looks on their faces that Baba was no longer with them. The twins closed their eyes and moved away from the bed, heading straight for Aladdin, who had fallen to his knees at the back of the tent, and was staring up at the last wisps of Baba's rukh with tears in his eyes. The Twins didn't understand their significance, but they kneeled down quietly beside him and wrapped their arms around him, pulling the boy into a comforting embrace.

"…" Aladdin's lower lip trembled as he held onto them with shaking hands. They were giving him permission to cry. They understood… They understood what it felt like to lose someone important. He could feel it. Aladdin tightened his grip on the older girls as he let out a sob, clinging to them for support, while Faith held his head against her chest, and Hope gently stroked his hair and rubbed his back in a soothing, circular motion. Even though Aladdin knew Baba would be watching over him as part of the rukh from now on, it still hurt… It was lonely to think she would never be able to hug or pat him or any of her family members on the head again… As he cried, so did the twins, and the three of them mourned Baba's passing together.

At this time, on the plains between the village and the army base, Hakuei and Seishun encountered something rather disturbing. Ryosai had apparently decided to mobilize some of the troops in her absence.

"… What are you doing, Ryosai?" Hakuei asked, deciding to give him a chance to explain himself.

"What… War, of course, princess." Ryosai answered smugly with a devious smirk.

"…" Hakuei and Seishun stared at him in disappointment with unimpressed looks on their faces. They had thought as much. Tucked inside of the princess's clothing, the eight-pointed seal on her metal vessel began to glow.


	28. Chapter 28

**Previously:**

_"I hope she kicks his ass." Faith said seriously as they watched them ride away._

_"Yeah, me too…" Hope agreed. "Come on, let's go check on the others." When they entered Baba's tent, they found it flooded with crying clansmen. The twins didn't have to ask why. It was obvious from the grief-stricken looks on their faces that Baba was no longer with them. The twins closed their eyes and moved away from the bed, heading straight for Aladdin, who had fallen to his knees at the back of the tent, and was staring up at the last wisps of Baba's rukh with tears in his eyes. The Twins didn't understand their significance, but they kneeled down quietly beside him and wrapped their arms around him, pulling the boy into a comforting embrace._

_"…" Aladdin's lower lip trembled as he held onto them with shaking hands. They were giving him permission to cry. They understood… They understood what it felt like to lose someone important. He could feel it. Aladdin tightened his grip on the older girls as he let out a sob, clinging to them for support, while Faith held his head against her chest, and Hope gently stroked his hair and rubbed his back in a soothing, circular motion. Even though Aladdin knew Baba would be watching over him as part of the rukh from now on, it still hurt… It was lonely to think she would never be able to hug or pat him or any of her family members on the head again… As he cried, so did the twins, and the three of them mourned Baba's passing together._

_At this time, on the plains between the village and the army base, Hakuei and Seishun encountered something rather disturbing. Ryosai had apparently decided to mobilize some of the troops in her absence._

_"… What are you doing, Ryosai?" Hakuei asked, deciding to give him a chance to explain himself._

_"What… War, of course, princess." Ryosai answered smugly with a devious smirk._

_"…" Hakuei and Seishun stared at him in disappointment with unimpressed looks on their faces. They had thought as much. Tucked inside of the princess's clothing, the eight-pointed seal on her metal vessel began to glow._

* * *

**Chapter 28: Dungeon Capturer**

* * *

"Okay, everyone get up…" The healer said eventually. "We will do Baba-sama's funeral tomorrow…"

"Yes…" the others agreed tiredly as they dried their eyes, exhausted from all the crying they had done.

"Faith, Hope, Ugo-kun… a lot has happened since we came here…" Aladdin said as they stood outside the tent, gazing down at the village and off into the distance.

"Yeah…" the twins agreed quietly.

"But I'm glad I came to this village." He said with a hopeful smile. "I feel like I'm finally beginning to understand myself now. Just like you said…" he added with a glance down at the Djinn in the flute. The twins smiled a little, glad to see that he appeared to be feeling better after a good cry. "Hm?" Aladdin said when the eight-pointed star on Ugo's flute started to glow. "A light… from my flute?"

"Huh? What's this all of a sudden?" Hope asked, surprised when two beams of light shot out from it, one of which connected straight to her ring, while the other went on until they lost sight of it over the horizon.

"Hey, wait, that's the ring your Djinn is in, right?" Faith said. "I don't know what's up with that other one, but haven't we seen this before_!_?" she asked Aladdin excitedly.

"Ah!" Aladdin gasped in realization, remembering how this had happened in Amon's dungeon. "Just like that one time…_!_?"

"What 'one time'_!_?" Hope asked, starting to feel left out.

"Come on!" Aladdin told the twins, pulling off his turban for them to ride. "Let's go, Ugo-kun!" he said, summoning the Djinn.

"… War is unnecessary." Hakuei said firmly as she and Seishun dismounted to approach Ryosai and a couple of his ranking officers, who had also dismounted. None of them seemed to be aware of the beam of light connected to her metal vessel. "The Kouga village has determined to join us through negotiation. Please retreat." Ryosai smirked.

"Wow, the Kouga Clan is a lot weaker than I thought." He sneered. "Even after being subjected to slave hunting and our sneak attack, they still caved in to your negotiations?" Hakuei furrowed her brow and clenched her teeth.

"So, it_ was_ you all along, Ryosai… This was your doing!" she said angrily, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword. Because of him those poor people…!

"That's right. However, this is the scenario that I had in mind: 'The princess that headed to migrating barbarians was pathetically killed. Left in command, Ryosai destroyed the Kouga village with his soldiers for revenge.' What do you think?" he asked smugly, signaling for his men to raise their weapons against her. Since those barbarians had failed, he would just have to take her out himself.

"… Huh, I wonder too, Ryosai. A senincho like you, who has only commanded a thousand men, commanding the entire army? I wonder why you would think of something so ridiculous." Hakuei retorted coolly with the hint of a smirk. The soldiers with him cringed at the icy insult while Ryosai shook with anger.

_"That's because I wanted to be a general instead of you!_!" he roared furiously. If you hadn't come, I would've been promoted to be the leader of this Northern Station Corps! These men are under my direct control… I can safely throw you into darkness." He finished shadily.

"…" Hakuei watched as the archers aimed their bows and arrows at her. "Traitor Ryosai, may the one who hurts their own name repent through death."

"Go to hell, bitch!" he snapped, signaling for them to shoot. Hakuei held her ground as the arrows flew at her, and to their shock, not a single one hit its target. They were all repelled, as if blocked by an invisible force.

"_!_?" The archers gasped when they felt the edge of a sharp gust. "W… What? The wind?"

"…" A cool smirk played on Hakuei's lips.

"Ryosai-dono! The arrows won't hit her!" the captain shouted in alarm as they continued their futile actions, wasting many arrows in their failed attempts at repeatedly trying to kill the princess.

"Using some mysterious magic… stupid dungeon capturer. You may be proud for now…" Ryosai muttered darkly. "Relentlessly attack!" he ordered all of his men. "I shall reward those who hit her with honor_!_!" His soldiers let out a war cry as they rushed forward to attack with their swords drawn, but they were quickly intercepted and incapacitated by Seishun.

"Household Vessel, _Sougetsuken_!" he said as he attacked, activating his secret weapon to blow the enemies away. "How was that, princess?" he asked, twirling his twin blades deftly in his hands.

"Please buy us some time. With that little amount of soldiers I can use what's left of my magoi… to scatter them." Hakuei replied, drawing her Metal Vessel from her dress. The Djinn's eight-pointed star seal shined on the golden handle of her feather flabellum as she fed it more power. "The Spirit of Maniacal Love and Chaos." she recited while Seishun continued to fight. "I order thine ancestors… To use my Magoi… to give me power! Come Out, Paimon!" she commanded her Djinn, releasing a huge blast of wind that sent the attacking soldiers flying. Hovering above the princess was a huge tornado spinning in the shape of a grinning woman. Ryosai's troops stared up in horror at the monster before them.

"Traitor, Ryosai…" Hakuei said, tightening her grip on the flabellum. "I, Hakuei, the first imperial princess, sentence you to death! Prepare yourself!" she shouted sternly with a glare.

"_!_!" Ryosai gasped as he reared back nervously, gritting his teeth.

"What is it, Dorji?" Toya asked back at the village when she noticed he was peering out of the tent, staring off into the distance.

"Whoa… that tornado…" he said, wondering why he felt like there was something strange about it. It wasn't acting the way you would normally expect one to. His eyes widened when he noticed the cloud of dust being kicked up in the wake of Ugo's giant footsteps. No way, it couldn't be…!

The tornado howled and roared as it continued to sweep away anyone foolish enough to approach the princess and her faithful retainer.

"Ryosai-dono! We can't attack that monster_!_! If we keep going, we'll be annihilated!" one of his soldiers cried. "Ryosai-dono…_!_!"

"…" Ryosai stared down at the dying troop as he watched from a safe distance with the rest of his men. "Don't worry, it's only wind." He told the other commanders, whom were all trembling in their saddles with fright. "Plus, even if they are annihilated, our supremacy will not be shaken, am I right?"

"R-Right…" one of the commanders replied nervously. They still had them outnumbered, for now.

"Also, the dungeon capturer has a fatal weak point." Ryosai added with a smirk, stepping forward as the wind began to die down.

"Dammit, I ran out of magoi." Seishun cursed when his household vessel deactivated itself.

"The wind giant is shrinking!" one of the soldiers exclaimed as Hakuei also ran out of magoi. "Now's our chance! Attack!"

"We've reduced the enemies' numbers enough! Seishun, capture Ryosai!" she ordered, drawing her sword to defend herself.

"Yes!" Seishun answered dutifully, hopping back on his horse. If they cut off the head of the snake, then it would be over.

"Ryosai-dono!" the soldiers yelled as Seishun shot past them, headed straight for their leader. Ryosai pretended to look surprised for a moment, but then he smirked.

"What numbers do you think you've reduced?" he asked cockily as the rest of his forces came forward to reveal themselves.

"…_!_!?" Seishun and Hakuei gasped in alarm when they saw a thousand more soldiers on the horizon.

"What are… these soldiers…_!_?" Hakuei demanded, shocked to discover that Ryosai had so much support.

"It's come to this because you're a meddling little girl who can't even handle an ambush… idiot." Ryosai sneered as he moved closer while his soldiers restrained the princess and her retainer. "Hmph… Once you've exhausted the magic stored in a Metal Vessel, then the Household Vessel that receives its benefits is rendered useless. How powerless you are now, dungeon capturer!" he gloated.

"Guh!" Hakuei grunted in pain when he kicked her while his soldiers kept her restrained. She grit her teeth, burning with rage. She could see that Seishun was lying on the ground a few feet over and bleeding, with two arrows in his back. 'Those mysterious twins were right… I can't believe so many of our soldiers were under Ryosai's control…' she thought bitterly as blood trickled from her nose. 'I cannot die here!'

"Don't worry, Hakuei-dono. I'll make sure he goes along with you." Ryosai leered nastily at her. "As well as your precious younger brother, Ren Hakuryuu_!_!" The princess lost it when she heard that.

"Son of a bitch_!_!_!"_ she yelled, grabbing one of the soldier's swords as she broke free from them, charging recklessly at the hateful man who dared to threaten her brother's life. Ryosai grinned as he raised his own sword to block the attack. He had finally managed to crack her façade.

"Very well." He said. "I, too, am a soldier. Let us decide with our blades which one of us should be general!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Hakuei agreed readily. 'Yes!' she thought. 'I have a chance of winning in a one-on-one battle…' Her eyes widened in shock when she suddenly felt a piercing pain in one of her shoulders. "…_!_?" she gasped as another arrow pierced her leg.

"Pu…Hahaha, you believed me_!_?" Ryosai laughed obnoxiously as his archers shot her again, and she fell to the ground. "Stupid bitch, you'll be tortured to death_!_!" Hakuei's pupils constricted in fear and anger.

'Am I finished, then…_!_?' she thought, breaking out in a cold sweat as she squeezed her eyes shut, cursing her own weakness in frustration. 'Is this really it…'

"Hahaha! First princess, my ass_!_! You're just an insignificant existence!" Ryosai sneered as he raised his sword above his head, preparing to strike. The eyes of Hakuei and the soldier holding her widened in astonishment as they looked past him. "I, Ryosai, will…" he continued, so focused on finally defeating the princess that he was oblivious to everything happening behind him, like the giant blue arm that had just swatted several of his men away like a bunch of flies. "Crush you…" Another wave of men was sent flying. _"In one hit, like a piece of trash!"_ He yelled. His eyes widened in shock when something suddenly slammed into his body with immense force before he could strike. Blood spurted from Ryosai's mouth as he lost consciousness from the extreme pain and damage caused when Ugo swatted him away from the princess. Needless to say, it was an instant K.O. Ugo had crushed him in one hit... like a piece a trash.

"Dayaaaaammn_!_!_!_" Faith exclaimed/cheered as they watched Ryosai's body hit the ground, rolling like a limp ragdoll.

"Sweet Lincoln's mullet…_!_!_!"_ Hope yelled, paling slightly in shock. She hadn't realized Djinns could be so dangerous! The human spine, legs, and arms were _not_ meant to bend those ways_!_! Hakuei stared up at Aladdin and his Djinn in amazement.

"Young boy… Who in the world are you?" the princess asked as Ugo returned to his flute, and the twins hopped off the turban.

"Me?" Aladdin said. "I am…" he tightened his grip on Baba's staff as he remembered what she had told him about himself. "… A magi." He answered with a smile.

"Magi…_!_!" Hakuei gasped in astonishment.


	29. Chapter 29

Author's note: I've added links to some new pictures for this story on my profile.  
One of them is of Ipos for anyone who's curious.

* * *

**Previously:**

_"Dayaaaaammn!_!_!_" _Faith exclaimed/cheered as they watched Ryosai's body hit the ground, rolling like a limp ragdoll._

_"Sweet Lincoln's mullet…!_!_!"_ _Hope yelled, paling slightly in shock. She hadn't realized Djinns could be so dangerous! The human spine, legs, and arms were not meant to bend those ways!_!_ Hakuei stared up at Aladdin and his Djinn in amazement._

_"Young boy… Who in the world are you?" the princess asked as Ugo returned to his flute, and the twins hopped off the turban._

_"Me?" Aladdin said. "I am…" he tightened his grip on Baba's staff as he remembered what she had told him about himself. "… A magi." He answered with a smile._

_"Magi…!_!" _Hakuei gasped in astonishment._

* * *

**Chapter 29: Paimon and Ipos**

* * *

"Ugh…" Seishun groaned as he regained consciousness.

"You have awoken, Seishun." Hakuei said as she held him, relieved.

"P-Princess, are you all right?" he asked earnestly, surprised to find that both of them had already had their wounds treated. Fortunately, none of them had been fatal. "What happened to Ryosai, and them…_!_?" he asked anxiously, bolting upright despite his the pain.

"They have been subdued." She replied calmly. Some loyal soldiers had arrived to help restrain Ryosai's men so they could be taken back to base for punishment along with their leader. "Thanks to him." She added, gesturing to the young boy who was standing nearby with two identical girls at his side. "He refers to himself as a magi." She whispered.

"Huh?" Seishun said, surprised.

"Hey! Nice to meet you, I'm Aladdin. And this is Faith and Hope." The young boy said with a smile and wave, pointing to each of the twins in turn as he introduced them.

"Hi!" the twins said brightly with a wave, in perfect synch with each other.

"This is Seishun." Hakuei said, introducing her friend as well. "He is an old acquaintance of mine, and he has captured a dungeon with me as my assistant."

"!" The twins said, surprised.

'Her too...?' Hope thought. Was everyone in the Kou Empire's royal family a dungeon capturer?

"Dungeon? You two have captured dungeons before?" Aladdin asked excitedly. So that's how she knew so much about them!

"Yes." Hakuei answered with a small nod.

"My, now ain't that a coinkydink~!" said Faith. "So have we! My sister even got a Djinn!"

"Eh?" Seishun said as their eyes widened slightly in surprise, impressed.

"Did you really…" Hakuei started to ask, when her flabellum and Hope's ring both began to glow. "My fan…_!_?"

"Yeah! That's it!" Aladdin said excitedly. "Onee-san, will you let me touch that? Hope, too!" Curious, both girls held out their metal vessels for him. Feeling a little nervous, Aladdin carefully reached out and touched both vessels at the same time.

"Whoa…!" Faith exclaimed when they were suddenly enveloped in two massive glowing orbs of rukh, and something huge and powerful shot out of each vessel. Hakuei's Djinn came out in the form of a whirlwind that soon cleared to reveal an enormous blue, scantily clad woman with pointy ears and long nails, while Ipos leaped from Hope's ring with a mighty roar.

"_!_?" Hakuei and Seishun gasped in surprise. They had never seen anyone summon two Djinns like this before!

"Who is the one… who will become king?" Hakuei's Djinn asked in a booming feminine voice. "Although, I'm already on a contract… Oh well! Is everyone doing fine~?" Actually, most of the soldiers looked like they had been scared shitless. "I am Paimon, a Djinn created by Solomon from maniacal love and chaos. And thou are the queen… Ren Hakuei_!_!" she exclaimed upon spotting her master. "But where did you get enough power to summon me? Did a typhoon come, Hakuei-chan?"

"No, no. Look closer, Pai-san. It was obviously the magi." Ipos told her, nodding his head in Aladdin's direction.

"Oh, you're right!" Paimon said, surprised to see him there as well.

"…" Aladdin and Faith said, staring up at the Djinns in surprise.

"… That's your Djinn?" She asked her sister. A winged-platylion? That was undeniably cool…

"Yep." Hope replied with a nod. "His name is Ipos."

"I am a Djinn created by Solomon from Wisdom and Valor. It is an honor, magi." Ipos said, bowing respectfully.

"_!_!" Both Djinns gasped when Ugo suddenly came out.

"You are…_!_!" Ipos gasped, taken aback. Now here was someone you didn't get to meet everyday!

"Oh, my!" said Paimon. "What luck I've had to see someone extraordinary again. I wonder what today is_!_?" For a moment, the three djinns stood there in a Mexican standoff, eyeing each other carefully.

"…?" the humans stared, wondering what they were up to. The Djinns looked awfully serious… They weren't going to fight, were they? And then, suddenly, with a gleam in her eyes Paimon lunged at Ugo and began poking the startled Djiin repeatedly in the nipples until he had flushed bright pink from head to toe in embarrassment.

"Phew, safe...!" Ipos said, letting out a sigh of relief as he wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his paw.

'What on earth are they doing…?' Faith and Hope wondered, sweat-dropping. What kind of sexual harassment was that?

"Ufuh~! Don't think I've forgotten about you, Ipos-kun!" Paimon purred, sneaking up on the winged-platylion from behind to fondle his mane and wings. Apparently Ipos was very ticklish.

"St—hahaha—Stop it_!_!" he snarled as vein throbbed on his forehead, trying to control his laughter. "Haha—Don't—haha—make me—hahaha—_bite you!_!_!_" Ugo waved his arms nervously when Ipos took a nip at Paimon. The other two Djinns immediately stopped what they were doing to pay attention as he began making more hand signs to communicate with them.

'This again… I wonder what they're talking about?' Aladdin and Faith thought.

"What's he doing? Is that some kind of sign language?" Hope asked curiously.

"Who knows?" Faith said with a shrug as Paimon ran her finger up Ugo's abs, making the Djinn flinch nervously and blush furiously again. She and Ipos nodded as Ugo push through his embarrassment and continued to convey the rest of his message.

"I see. I understand the situation now." Ipos said seriously once they were done.

"Yes, you guys have had a lot of trouble. And there seems to be something unusual going on in the world." Paimon agreed with brief glance at Aladdin and the twins. "But you know… That makes no difference to me." She said with a grin, wrapping her arms around Hakuei as she pulled the princess close to her naked bosom. "I don't care what happens to the world. My only task is to help Hakuei, whom I've fallen for as a worthy King Candidate… That's the reason I was created."

"As irresponsible as always…" Ipos muttered as he and Ugo sweat-dropped, chagrined. Hope also sweat-dropped when she saw the envious look on her sister's face as she eyed Hakuei's position tucked between her Djinn's large boobs.

"King Candidate…?" Aladdin asked.

"A King Candidate is someone who has been deemed worthy to capture a dungeon and be chosen to receive the power of a Djinn's Vessel. You could say Hope is my King Candidate." Ipos explained proudly.

"My Hakuei-chan is better." Said Paimon. "She has beauty _and _intelligence!"

"Well, so does Hope. Not only is she a genius, but she's a skilled warrior as well!" he countered.

"My Hakuei has received training in swordsmanship, and she has a royal pedigree!"

"Well, my Hope—"

"Hey, yeah, sorry to interrupt… but we've got some questions." Hope said rather unapologetically, stopping them before it had a chance to get ridiculous. For such powerful beings, they were acting awfully childish. They reminded her of a couple of kindergartners arguing over who had the better mom. "You wanna go first, Aladdin?"

"Yes," Aladdin said with a nod. "Paimon-san, Ipos-san, tell me more. I'm a magi, right?" he asked. "What is a magi? Tell me, what am I supposed to do from now on?" Paimon and Ipos both flinched in surprise at the last question, clearly take aback.

"Oh, magi, such beings as we who were created by King Solomon from rukh cannot command you." Ipos answered with all due respect. "You must seek guidance from the great will of the rukh."

"I see…" Aladdin said thoughtfully. "I did hear that a magi is supposed to select a king…"

"Ooh, then you get the gist." Said Paimon. "Yes, the king's selection is the path of a magi."

"It is normally a magi who chooses the King's Candidate to enter a dungeon… Though in Hope's case, she wandered in her own." Ipos added with a wry smile.

"Well, Hakuei-chan was chosen directly as a King's Candidate to be by the magi of the Kou Empire." Paimon said proudly.

"Eh…_!_?" Aladdin and the twins gasped in surprise.

"There are other magis beside me?" he asked excitedly.

'I wonder if Kouen was also chosen by this other magi…' Hope thought, frowning slightly. She hadn't heard anything about a 'magi' from him. Even though he had agreed to tell her 'everything' he knew, that obviously wasn't the case. What he had told her had been really vague bits and piece shrouded in mystery that raised more questions than they had answered… and he had been very careful to avoid answering too many questions about his own Djinn… So she had a feeling that he had been holding back on her, but it was a little disappointing to have it confirmed.

"Yes." Paimon answered Aladdin brightly. "Just like you their mission is to select King Candidates. How about you? Have you ever picked a king before? Just like how I contracted with Hakuei-chan in the dungeon?"

"… Ah…" Aladdin, Faith, and Hope said when it suddenly clicked as they recalled the adventure two of them had had with Alibaba in Amon's dungeon.

"Hey, you don't think…" Faith said as beads of sweat slid down the sides of their faces. Come to think of it, the Djinn kind of did seem to settle on a certain someone in the end…

'Alibaba-kun…' Aladdin thought, wondering if his friend was going to be all right. Did Alibaba even know he had a Djinn? Amon-kun had slipped in there rather stealthily as they were leaving…

'These Djinns are so arbitrary...' Hope thought, sweat-dropping.

Shortly after the Djinns returned to their Metal Vessels (unfortunately without revealing anything to the twins that they didn't already know), Hakuei and Seishun prepared to return to the army base.

"Would you like to meet him?" Hakuei asked their new friends as she mounted her steed. "Our country's magi?"

"…" The twins exchanged a glance out the corners of their eyes, keeping their poker faces firmly in place. Was it worth the risk? Faith decided to leave it up to Hope.

"Nope, I'm going to return to the village and head west." Aladdin answered immediately with a smile. "I have someone I want to see."

"Yes, thanks for the offer, but we'll pass too." Hope said with a wry smile. "We're gonna stick with Aladdin."

"Oh, I see." Said Seishun. "You already have your own magi."

"Oh, no, it's not because of that… right?" Hope said, sharing a smile with her sister. They had more than just a need to avoid being caught to motivate them to make that choice.

"Yeah, it's 'cuz we're friends! Right, Aladdin?" Faith said with a grin as she put an arm around him. Aladdin blushed a little as he looked up at them, feeling extremely touched.

"Yeah_!_!" he said happily, smiling with all the radiance of the sun.

"… Something wrong?" Hope asked as the three of them walked back to the village together. Aladdin had been awfully quiet for a while now. He looked like he was deep in thought about something.

"… I've been thinking about that incident in the dungeon, when we met Amon-kun…" he said after a moment, deciding to share with them. "I think that must have been 'choosing the king'… I'm not sure what's going to change if I meet Alibaba-kun. But I'm going to see him because I want to!" he said determinedly. "By moving forward, I've learned many things I wanted to know, and it never stops! I want to know! I want to know! I want to know more about who I am!" he finished excitedly.

"Yeah… I get what you're saying." Faith said with a wry smile. "Well, I don't know how long we'll be here…"

"… But as long as we're here, we're with you." Hope finished reassuringly.

"You can count on us!" the twins said with a grin, taking him by the hand as the three of them started to run. Aladdin smiled and laughed.

'You were right, obaa-chan…' Aladdin thought, overcome with a feeling of belonging. 'I think the three of us were meant to meet.'


	30. Chapter 30

**Previously:**

_"… I've been thinking about that incident in the dungeon, when we met Amon-kun…" he said after a moment, deciding to share with them. "I think that must have been 'choosing the king'… I'm not sure what's going to change if I meet Alibaba-kun. But I'm going to see him because I want to!" he said determinedly. "By moving forward, I've learned many things I wanted to know, and it never stops! I want to know! I want to know! I want to know more about who I am!" he finished excitedly._

_"Yeah… I get what you're saying." Faith said with a wry smile. "Well, I don't know how long we'll be here…"_

_"… But as long as we're here, we're with you." Hope finished reassuringly._

_"You can count on us!" the twins said with a grin, taking him by the hand as the three of them started to run. Aladdin smiled and laughed._

_'You were right, obaa-chan…' Aladdin thought, overcome with a feeling of belonging. 'I think the three of us were meant to meet.'_

* * *

**Chapter 30: Guide**

* * *

Defeated by Aladdin, the traitor Ryosai and his troops were captured. Afterwards, the Kouga village became part of the Kou Empire. Under the command of Hakuei's troops, the village is courageously stepping toward a new beginning. And, once the remainder of the two weeks had passed and the day to leave for the spring market had arrived, it became the day for Aladdin and the twins to depart.

"Onii-saaaan_!_! These clothes are heavy and hard to move around in~" Aladdin whined, tugging on the thick clothing. The twins smiled wryly in understanding. They could barely even move. The Kouga women had bundled them all up as much as humanely possible before sending them off. Oh well, at least now they had a change of clothes that helped them look like they might actually belong in this world…

"What are you talking about? Don't you have a long journey? This much equipment is necessary!" Dorji chided him.

"Hey, speaking of bundles… what was that wrapped up package I saw you hand off to Hakuei before we left?" Faith asked her sister curiously.

"Uh… I'll tell you later." Hope said, sweat-dropping. She didn't want to say in front of the others, but it was actually the magic carpet, spoon, and everything else that she had 'borrowed' from Kouen to make her escape. She had also slipped in her pearl necklace as compensation for whatever trouble she might have caused. Hope figured returning everything she took might help ensure that he had one less reason to come after them… She really hoped he wasn't holding a grudge. She had made sure to emphasize to Hakuei that Kouga Clan had no idea what she was doing, and that it had absolutely nothing to do with them in any way. Hakuei had been surprised to leaned that Hope had met Kouen before and understandably confused by her cryptic message, but the princess had promised to keep it in mind as she accepted the package to pass onto him for her.

"Look, you can see the market!" Boyan said excitedly as it came into view. Aladdin and the twins immediately perked up after hearing that and smiled as they looked down upon the lively and colorful market below the plateau.

"Huh, two girls and this lil' kid?" A tall man with a really intense face asked as he leaned down to get a closer look at the twins and Aladdin. The guys introduced them to a member of a caravan they were familiar with who was a really muscular and macho middle-aged man. He had a thick mustache and was covered in scars. Even the little squirrel/Tasmanian devil thing riding on the man's shoulders looked tough with the matching scar it had over its eye. The three friends sweat-dropped. He and his little critter were staring really hard at them…

"Give them a ride to Qishan." Said Dorji. "They'll do any kind of work."

"Hmph. I guess it won't matter if we have a couple more girls or one or two more kids." The man said, biting one of the coins someone had handed him to make sure it was good. "But going through the desert is tough. You kids sure you can handle it?" The three friends exchanged a glance.

"Yep." They answered with a smile.

"We can handle it." said Hope.

"I'll do my best!" said Aladdin.

"We're tougher than we look." Said Faith.

"That's for sure!" Dorji agreed with a smile, patting Aladdin on the back.

"…" The man stared at them for a moment. "You have ten minutes until the carriage leaves. Finish your goodbyes." He said with a huff as he turned away, deciding to accept them. "You siblings probably have memories you want to recount." Aladdin, the twins, and Dorji stared after the man in surprise.

"Hehe, he said siblings." Aladdin said, blushing happily as he rubbed the back of his neck, and they all shared a laugh. That man might look scary, but he was a pretty nice guy.

"Can I really have this?" Aladdin asked when they presented him with Baba's staff when it was time to board the carriage.

"It's all right, since it's Baba-sama's memento. Plus you've saved us… I'm sure Baba-sama would be happy for you to have it." Dorji said.

"Yeah…" Aladdin said, bowing his head. The twins smiled and place a hand on his shoulders.

"Be well, and eat this." Toya told them with a smile, handing over some extra provisions for the road.

"Yay, food!" Faith said excitedly.

"Hey, want a weapon instead of a cane? Since traveling can be dangerous." Asked Boyan.

"Stupid! Aladdin's perfectly fine without one! Right?" Dorji said with a laugh.

"Yeah, and we've got a pen, so we're good." Hope said with a smile.

"Huh? Pins?" Bator asked, sweat-dropping.

"You know…" Faith said, staring at the sword in Boyan's hand. "This whole time it's been bugging me, but there's something awfully familiar about the swords y'all carry…"

'Oh yeah… I wonder where I've seen that before…' Aladdin thought.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hope asked curiously.

"Oh!" Aladdin and Faith gasped suddenly when they remembered Goltas, and it clicked.

"Wait, onii-san!" Aladdin said excitedly. "Do you know a guy named Goltas?"

"_!_?" Dorji and the others said, surprised.

"… I see, so that happened…" Dorji said once they had explained. "'Goltas' and 'Dorji' are common names around Kouga. We've been separated countless times because of the slave hunting… He was probably also part of our family… I'll pray for his soul."

"… I see…" Aladdin said quietly.

"… Though it was a coincidence, thanks for seeing him off at the very end!" Dorji said with a smile.

"No, it wasn't a coincidence!" said Aladdin.

"Eh?" Dorji and the others said, surprised.

"?" said the twins.

"Because Goltas-kun and Faith and I met, Goltas-kun's soul was able to return home… Because we came to Kouga, Faith and Hope were able to find each other, and we met a lot of great people. These encounters can't be coincidences." Aladdin said, tightening his grip on Baba's staff. "That's why, we'll all see each other again someday_!_!" he finished with a smile.

"!" Dorji and the others said. The twins smiled. That was a really nice way of thinking about it.

"Time to leave_!_!" someone with the caravan shouted, beating a gong to get the people walking and the carriages rolling.

"Aladdin_!_! Hope_!_! Faith_!_! See you again_!_!_!_!" Dorji shouted as he and the others chased after their carriage.

"See you_!_!_!_" Boyan and Bator yelled.

"Be well_!_!_!_" Toya called.

"You too_!_!_" _the twins shouted back as they waved goodbye.

"We'll meet again! People of the Kouga Clan!" Aladdin said. He looked up when he saw a flutter of rukh. 'I'm going obaa-chan… please look after us!' he thought with a smile.

Aladdin's journey, which had at first seemed lonely, was actually guided by the great will of the rukh. He would later go to the river of the world's history. Those meetings and partings would not be coincidence… and the twins, too, would come to learn more about themselves and have important encounters of their own as they continued their journey together. Traveling through the desert was tough, wrought with danger, and often required hard work. Sometimes they would have to get out and push the carriage when it got stuck. Sometimes they found themselves at odds with the natural predators of the area and (one more than one occasion) had to battle a desert hyacinth or two. But despite everything, the three friends enjoyed themselves immensely. Every day was exciting, and sleeping under the stars after a day of hard work felt extremely satisfying. Hope's fears of relapsing and becoming unstable without her medicine gradually began to fade further and further from her mind, and she began to dare hope that perhaps her illness had somehow managed to go into a sort of remission, as day after day went by without incident. And then, after half a year, the setting changed to a small country in the southwest…

The caravan had just left the oasis city of Delemmar and started down the route to Balbadd, passing through a ravine, when Aladdin decided it would be a good time to take a nap in the cart, while the twins continued to walk a little further up ahead with their scar-faced boss.

"So, how much farther is it again?" Faith pestered him eagerly for the hundredth time that morning. "We're almost there, right?"

"Geez, give the poor man a break, will ya?" Hope chided her sister with a wry smile. "We'll get there when we get there."

"Yeah, but when—" Faith started to ask, when they heard a great rumbling crash behind them. Their eyes widened as they whipped their heads around and saw that the cart had been partially crushed by a large boulder.

"Aladdin_!_!" The twins cried in alarm, immediately rushing over to check on him, hoping he wasn't still inside.

"Look out_!_!" the boss shouted, tackling them out of harm's way as more boulders came crashing down in their path.

"It's an ambush!" they heard someone cry as a band of thieves suddenly descended upon them from over the top of the ravine. In an instant the twins were swept up in a swarm of violence and confusion as the thieves did their best to divide and conquer the caravan and its members.

"There's too many of them!" the boss said after fighting back to back with them for a while. They had managed to regroup with the caravan leader and a few other members, but the majority of them seemed to have already been captured or run off. "We have to go!"

"What about the others_!_?" asked Hope.

"Yeah, where's Aladdin_!_? Has anyone seen him_!_?" Faith demanded.

"I saw your little brother being carried away by one of the thieves! Unless you want to join him as their prisoner, you're better off leaving with us!" the leader said, grabbing them by the arm to drag them away.

"What, and leave him to rot_!_?" Faith asked incredulously, pulling back. "They'll kill him_!_!"

"No, they won't, because this isn't a simple raid." The boss said grimly. "Thieves don't take normally prisoners... This is… slave hunting_!_! If they catch, you, you'll be sold into slavery!"

"_!_!" the twins gasped.

"Oh man, not this shit again!" Faith cursed angrily, gritting her teeth, as both twins furrowed their brows.

"Hey… What are the odds of all of us getting out here and finding them again before they can be sold?" Hope asked, looking down.

"Terrible." The boss answered frankly. "To be honest in a ravine like this, I don't think more than half of us will even make it without some kind of distraction, and their hideout could be in anywhere. There's a number of caves and abandoned buildings within riding distance of here…"

"Then, I guess we have no choice…" Hope said reluctantly, clenching her fist. "Faith."

"Yeah, I think I know what you're gonna say…" Faith said with a wry smirk as a bead of nervous sweat slid down the side of her face.

"We're staying." Hope said firmly as she looked up at the men.

"You can't—!" They started to protest, but Hope held up a hand to silence them.

"You guys need a distraction in order to escape, right? You can leave that to us." she said determinedly. Her eyes landed on the boss's furry little friend. "We'll buy you time to escape, but in return…"


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: Special: Kouen and Hakurei**

* * *

After Kouen arrived to help Hakuei finish dealing with the aftermath of Ryosai's betrayal…

"My deepest apologies," Hakuei said as she and Seishun bowed their heads to her cousin/stepbrother, "for you, our army's General Commander, to have to come here in person because of my failure to maintain control over the command given to me…"

"It's fine." Kouen said, dismissively as he continued to review the logs and reports on the incident. He had to send someone to update the magicians at this base on their new message system anyway. The rest he would leave up to Koumei to supervise. "These men are veteran soldiers. They should have known better." For them to even think that they could lay a hand on a member of the royal family and get away with it was… "Twins." He said suddenly, straightening up when he reached the part where Faith and Hope were mentioned. Hope had mentioned something about her sister 'having the same face'. It couldn't be…

"Oh, that's right!" Hakuei said, perking up. She quickly got up and retrieved a bundle from a chest beside the desk. "One of those girls, Hope, gave me something for you. She said she knew you?" Hakuei said with a curious glance as she placed the bundle in front of him.

"Yes. I found her in a dungeon, and we cleared it together with my household." Kouen replied while he opened it. "Due to certain circumstances, I was holding her for information, but… she escaped using these." He said, nodding at the spoon and carpet, while he ran his fingers over the pearls.

"A spoon...?" Hakuei and Seishun said curiously. The hint of a smirk played upon Kouen's lips as he continued to examine the pearls. They were definitely _hers._ Hope Dupont had managed to stay a step ahead of him again, and now that she had her sister, where she would go next was anyone's guess. For someone who ran away so shamelessly, it was awfully conscientious of her to return all of the items that she had gone through the trouble of 'borrowing' without his permission. Were these pearls supposed to be some token of apology?

"I see… So that's what happened." Said Seishun thoughtfully. So that's how she had gotten her Djinn…

"What sort of information? Should I have held them?" Hakuei asked, concerned. Whatever Hope knew it, must have been important to Kouen for him to hold her like that. Kouen smirked.

"When you met those twins, what did you think of them?" he asked.

"Well, I remember thinking they were dressed rather strangely…" said Hakuei thoughtfully. For two girls with such fine jewelry they had awfully little clothing on. "But they were both skilled fighters and very insightful… I think they sensed Ryosai's betrayal before I did. However, it was their friend and traveling companion who really captured my attention. His name is Aladdin, and he is a gentleman with mysterious powers and a heart of justice. The twins also came to my aid, but it was largely thanks to him that I was able to escape with only this level of injury. It must have been a fated encounter." She said, blushing.

"Oh? To be praised by you to such an extent… He must be a great man." Said Kouen, a bit surprised. He had never before heard her speak of a man with such ecstasy.

"Yes!" Hakuei said brightly with a dreamy look on her face. "I can remember it even now… that manly body that wore only a loincloth. And his strong yet gentle hands that he reached toward me… I will never forget it."

"…" Kouen stared blankly at her for a moment. What?

"Princess, aren't you talking about Master Aladdin's Djinn? After all, Master Aladdin himself is a very small boy." Seishun reminded her.

"Djinn?" Kouen asked, glancing back down at the report. Sure enough, there it was on paper. He could see now that Hakuei had clearly been referring to the instant when Aladdin had his Djinn slap Ryosai away from her. "Is this boy also a dungeon capturer?"

"About that…" Hakuei said, sobering up. "It seems he's actually a magi." she finished with a knowing smile. Kouen's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"… Is that so?" he said, stroking his goatee. In other words, Hope and her sister had somehow managed to find their own magi… Interesting. This girl had a real talent for surpassing expectations. "You said they were traveling together. You wouldn't happen to know where they are headed, would you?"

"As a matter of fact, Aladdin said he wished to travel to the oasis city of Qishan to search for a friend, and the twins decided to go with him." Hakuei replied dutifully.

"Qishan… I see." Kouen said. His smirk returned as he looked up at her. "Who are your fastest riders?" Seishun shuddered slightly at the intense possessive look in his eyes, and suddenly became very concerned for their new friends.

"… I'll go find out." Hakuei said with a smile, turning on her heel as she immediately moved to do just that. She hadn't seen Kouen look this excited in a long time. He was positively sparkling. He must really like Hope… or whatever information she was supposed to have…

Unfortunately for Kouen, as he would later find out, he was already too late. The twins and Aladdin only stayed one night in Qishan with their caravan once they heard Alibaba wasn't there anymore. And during that time, Hope and Faith had begun using a temporary homemade hair dye to darken their hair to a sort of brownish color, so the detailed description of the girls he gave their pursuers ended up back-firing on him, because they were too focused on finding a set of matching gingers and completely overlooked the brunettes. It would be a long time before he saw Hope again.


	32. Chapter 32

**Previously:**

_"Hey… What are the odds of all of us getting out here and finding them again before they can be sold?" Hope asked, looking down._

_"Terrible." The boss answered frankly. "To be honest in a ravine like this, I don't think more than half of us will even make it without some kind of distraction, and their hideout could be in anywhere. There's a number of caves and abandoned buildings within riding distance of here…"_

_"Then, I guess we have no choice…" Hope said reluctantly, clenching her fist. "Faith."_

_"Yeah, I think I know what you're gonna say…" Faith said with a wry smirk as a bead of nervous sweat slid down the side of her face._

_"We're staying." Hope said firmly as she looked up at the men._

_"You can't—!" They started to protest, but Hope held up a hand to silence them._

_"You guys need a distraction in order to escape, right? You can leave that to us." she said determinedly. Her eyes landed on the boss's furry little friend. "We'll buy you time to escape, but in return…"_

* * *

**Chapter 32: Slave**

* * *

"Well, this sucks…" Faith grumbled as they sat inside the dark, dank cell with the rest of their fellow captives in chains. It especially sucked since they had been given the really heavy duty shackles to keep them restrained after all the trouble they had caused. "Scar-face and his little friend better hold up their end of the bargain, or—"

"Shh! Not so loud!" Hope chided her in a low voice. The last thing they wanted was to let their captors in on the fact that they had gotten caught on purpose in order to smuggle the little critter inside their base so they could set him loose after marking their hideout's location on a map so he could bring it back to the boss. In return for helping him and the others escape, the boss had promised to come riding in with the cavalry to rescue them. So it would be a disaster if their furry friend got caught on his way out. "Besides, at least we know where Aladdin is now…" she added, glancing over her shoulder at the sleeping boy. Other than a bump on the head, he seemed perfectly fine. As far as she could tell, there weren't any signs of him having a concussion, so as long as they could avoid being sold before their rescue arrived, they'd be golden.

When Aladdin regained consciousness, Hope examined him again, and the twins explained what had happened. Needless to say, he was extremely touched that they would get themselves caught on purpose for his sake so the three of them could stay together, but he also felt a little guilty about it and blamed himself. The twins weren't having any of that and promptly gave him a flick and poke on the forehead.

"_!_?" Aladdin exclaimed as he held his sore forehead, surprised. "W-What was that for?" he asked, a bit startled.

"For being an idiot." Faith deadpanned.

"We've said it before. We're here for you, Aladdin." Hope said with a smile. "Besides, you'd do the same for us, right? So don't worry, I'm sure we'll be rescued soon."

Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. The hideout of the group of thieves, situated along the passage to Balbadd, was a huge cylindrical walled city that was once a quarry. However, the group of thieves wanted it due to its stable structure, and now they used it as a fortress… which had become a place where even the army couldn't step into. It was hard to measure time in their dark cell, but as the days went by, more and more people were brought in to join them. One poor couple, who had been separated from their daughter, tried to comfort themselves with the hope that maybe the little girl had managed to avoid being taken, and that was why they couldn't find her amongst the other soon to be slaves. They tried to pass the time and cheer everyone up a little by sharing stories and singing the occasional song. They thought they heard a commotion outside one day, but as far as they could tell from their room nothing ever came of it, and Faith began to grow increasingly impatient.

"Ugh… This is taking too long_!_! And the food's terrible!" she groaned in frustration one day. She getting real sick of not even being able to feed herself. Because the twins' hands had been bound behind their backs, they often needed Aladdin's help to eat. "Why don't we just bust ourselves out_!_? It'd be so much faster!"

"Faster than what?" one of the slave traders asked as he entered the room. They were pretty sure they had heard the others call him Fatima.

"Dying of boredom while rotting away in this hellhole." Faith quipped sarcastically in response without missing a beat. She really didn't like this guy. He was creepy, and for a drag queen he had a really bad sense of style. That lipstick was so not his color.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that any longer." Fatima said with a smirk. "You and your sister are going to be brought to your new owner in a couple of days!"

"_!_!" the twins and Aladdin gasped in alarm.

"What_!_?" the twins shouted incredulously.

"Haha! Surprised?" Fatima laughed. "You shouldn't be. Twins are often in high demand among a certain clientele… They're very rare after all, and matching sets are very 'in' right now." he leered at them before exiting the room and locking the door behind him.

'Did he come all this way just to taunt us…?' Hope wondered, chagrined. He really didn't like them for some reason… the feeling was mutual, though.

"Can we escape _now_?" Faith asked pointedly as a vein throbbed on her forehead, annoyed.

"Definitely." Hope agreed. "But it's going to require some stealth… It'll be difficult to escape with so many people… We need to find the keys and Ugo-kun first. Aladdin, can you pull one of my bobby pins out and put it in my mouth for me?"

"What are you gonna do?" Aladdin asked as he complied.

"Pick the lock, of course!" Faith answered with a grin while Hope got to work on wiggling the hairpin around in the lock on her sister's shackles using her teeth.

"Huh? But, if you can do that, then why do you need the keys?" he asked, blinking in confusion.

"Hecuz ihall tak huoo wong ho ho dis hor ho hany heeple." Said Hope, trying to talk while she worked. "He on't hanna he haught hin heh hact hof hiscaping, o heel het hunished."

"Huh?" Aladdin and the others said, sweat-dropping.

"She said 'Because it'll take too long to do with this many people. We don't want to be caught in the act of escaping, or we'll get punished.'" Faith translated effortlessly.

"Ohh." Aladdin said while the others nodded in understanding. Yeah, that would be bad…

"Chow time, every—" one of the other slave traders started to say when he came in to deliver the usual bucket of slop for their dinner, but the twins struck before he could finish. The man never even knew what hit him as Faith delivered a sharp blow to the back of his neck, while Hope caught the bucket to prevent it from hitting the ground and making a loud clang. Without a sound the girls quickly gagged him with his own sash and put their shackles on him to keep prevent him from alerting the other slave traders and thieves to their escape.

"Wow… Your sisters are really strong and reliable, huh?" one of their fellow captives remarked to Aladdin. He was really glad they were on their side.

"Yep!" Aladdin said proudly. "I wish I could do more to help them, though… But I'm not very strong on my own, and I'm having trouble borrowing 'everyone's power' without something to help me focus the energy from my belly…" he said a bit regretfully.

"Okay." Hope said, once they had finished helping themselves to the knives they had frisked from the slave trader. "We want to avoid raising their suspicions for as long as possible, so we're gonna have to close the door behind us. But don't worry, we'll be right back." She reassured everyone.

"Yeah, we'll be sure to kick their asses!" Faith added with a wink.

"Stealthily, Faith. _Stealthily._" Hope reminded her, sweat-dropping. She hoped this would work. Faith wasn't exactly good at 'subtle'.

A couple of beat up thieves and several twist and turns through the tunnels later, and the girls finally caught their first glimpse of sky in days. The fresh air felt good on their faces and in their lungs.

"Fatima! What's with those dogs?" The twins immediately ducked for cover when they heard someone shout the head slave trader's name from somewhere below. Very cautiously, they peaked over the edge and saw that it was the leader of the thieves talking. "What do you plan to do?" he asked Fatima nervously. That was a very good question. What was that freak up to now? Why was a scared little girl being dangled over a cage of wild animals_!_?

"They are 'desert hyenas'." Said Fatima.

'Those things don't look like any hyenas we've seen before…' the twins thought, sweat-dropping. The slave trader smirked as he turned his attention to the shackled red-haired girl being held in place beside him.

'Hey, wait a sec… that girl looks kind of familiar…' Faith thought, squinting. Her eyes widened when she realized where she had seen her before. It was that crazy strong girl from the dungeon…! Morgan or Morgana, something like that…

"Our group does not like things without value… Since the medicine costs more than the sick slave is worth, I wonder what we should do." Fatima said, taking out a knife.

"!" the twins furrowed their brows as the red-haired girl paled. They had a bad feeling about this…

'What? Just what is this person saying?' Morgiana thought anxiously, breaking out in a nervous sweat. What was he going to do with that knife?

"That sort of slave is just a…" Fatima placed his knife against the rope holding the little girl up. The girls' eyes widened in horror. He wouldn't…!

"Eh? Eh? Eh? Such a… Sto—" Morgiana cried, but it was too late, he had already cut the rope.

"… Nice bit of hyena food!" Fatima finished as the little girl fell into the cage screaming. The twins stared down at the terrible scene in shock.

_"Stop it!"_ Morgiana screamed as Faith and Hope jumped over the edge, gritting their teeth furiously, as they slid down the side of the dirt slope, abandoning their previous plan to save the girl.

"What are you surprised about? In the world of slaves, this is common sense, right?" Fatima smirked. "Your face… has a surprised expression… Though this may not have anything to do with a high-class 'Fanalis', it might be a good opportunity, so please, watch. You two… should also learn to know your place." He added, narrowing his eyes as he glanced back at Faith and Hope, who took out the thieves directly below them with pair of beautiful dropkicks.

"What the_!_? How did they get out_!_? Capture them!" the head thief shouted, calling more men to help subdue them.

"Get her out_!_! Let that little girl go, you bastards_!_!" Faith shouted angrily, throwing a straight jab fierce enough to send three grown men flying.

'Save her! I have to save her! … Geez! Why did this thing have to be attached like this_!_?' Morgiana thought furiously, struggling against her restraints. She didn't know where those other two girls came from, but…! 'I have to break these shackles… otherwise, I can't save her!'

"You can't break that shackle, can you?" Fatima sneered, stepping on her, while the Twins continued to try to fight their way to the cage. The little girl screamed as she struggled to get away from the hyenas. Morgiana grit her teeth and began beating her shackles against the ground with all her might in a desperate attempt to break them.

'Hurry up! Hurry up and break, shackles! Hurry!' she pleaded anxiously. '… This shackle… won't break… no matter what I do, it won't break! … If I don't hurry, she's going to be eaten! I promised to save her! It's a promise, yet…!' Seeing the desperate tears of fear in Nadja's eyes as the hyenas cornered her made Morgiana's own painful and traumatic past come crashing back to the forefront, and she was overwhelmed with memories of the abuse Jamil had heaped upon throughout the years.

_"Loosen the chains? Morgiana… It's impossible. Impossible. Your chains will always be there…"_ her old master's voice echoed through her mind.

'I absolutely cannot remove it!' Morgiana cried internally, watching helplessly as the hyenas snapped their jaws at Nadja while tears streamed down her small face.

_Really? Morgiana…_

"…_!_?" she gasped, looking up with tears in her eyes as the rukh fluttered around her. "Who…?"

_Is that all the power you have? You can't remove those shackles? Your chains should have been removed already, Morgiana!_

'That's… a lie.' Morgiana thought with tears in her eyes. 'My hands and legs are in such strong shackles. I can't get out of them at all… Just like back then… I wanted to run away, but I could not.'

_That's right, that's why you were captured. Your past fears… Have you not changed since those days? You've grown, and your master has died; you've been released from being a slave. Look, that bond has already disappeared!_

Morgiana's eyes widened.

"Kyaaaa_!_!" Nadja screamed as one of the hyenas stepped on her to prevent her from dodging its attack again.

"Nooo_!_!" the twins yelled, rushing towards the cage, but they were too far away, and there were still more armed men in their way. They'd never reach her in time!

"_!_!" Morgiana gasped in alarm.

_Those chains and shackled aren't the same. So, just what part of them do you have a problem with?_

"Fufu… Look at that Fanalis. What kind of slave…_!_?" Fatima and the others gasped, staring up at Morgiana in astonishment when she suddenly launched herself high up into the air above their heads and flipped over the top of the cage bars to land perfectly on her feet between Nadja and the Hyenas.

_That's right… In this world… you are bound… to nothing!_!

"Wow_!_!" Hope exclaimed in amazement as she punched another thief, taking advantage of his moment of shock over Morgiana's feat. That girl was something else!

"Hmph, it's about time!" Faith said with a knowing grin. "Kick their asses!" she cheered.

"What a kid!" said the head thief, sweating nervously. "To jump like that from such a position…"

"Che… The situation is still the same; you can't do anything!" Fatima snapped once he recovered from his initial shock. He cracked his whip and sent the hyenas charging back at Morgiana and Nadja. "Be obedient!"

"Crap!" said Hope with a frown. "Her shackles are still…!" As Morgiana took a deep breath, the twins surprised everyone by using Fatima and the head thief as spring boards to leap up and scramble over the top of the cage, taking advantage of the moment behind their falls to hit two hyenas with a body slam. The twins quickly rolled back onto their feet as the rest of the hyenas stopped and turned to face this new threat.

"You bitch…_!_!" Fatima cursed furiously as he glared at Faith, trying to brush off the dirt left behind by her shoes.

"That's _Queen Bitch_ to you!" Faith retorted coolly before turning back to Morgiana and the little girl. "Hey there, we thought you could use a little—"

_CLANG!_!_!_

Their eyes widened in surprise when Morgiana took advantage of the opening their entrance had created to start banging the shackles on her ankles against part of the steel cage as hard as she could.

"!" everyone said, surprised. What was she…? They gasped in astonishment when she managed to smash the lock, and her shackles popped open.

"I got free…" Morgiana said, stepping out of them.

'She used the beasts' strong cage to break the lock…!' Fatima cried internally, shocked.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout_!_!" Faith said with a smirk while Hope marveled over how crazy strong Morgiana was as she straightened up and used her brute strength to pull apart the chain on her handcuffs so she could move more freely.

'Something tells me she would've been just fine even without us jumping in…' Hope thought, sweat-dropping.

"Just what are these kids… This habit of slaves… I can't stomach it…" said Fatima, gritting his teeth. The hyenas were too spooked to attack after Morgiana's display of strength, and the twins had already taken out a large fraction of the thieves using their martial arts, but he wasn't about to let those dirty brats get away with this! "All of those things for auction… take them out!" he ordered sternly.


	33. Chapter 33

**Previously:**

_"!" everyone said, surprised. What was she…? They gasped in astonishment when she managed to smash the lock, and her shackles popped open._

_"I got free…" Morgiana said, stepping out of them._

_'She used the beasts' strong cage to break the lock…!' Fatima cried internally, shocked._

_"Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!_!" _Faith said with a smirk while Hope marveled over how crazy strong Morgiana was as she straightened up and used her brute strength to pull apart the chain on her handcuffs so she could move more freely._

_'Something tells me she would've been just fine even without us jumping in…' Hope thought, sweat-dropping._

_"Just what are these kids… This habit of slaves… I can't stomach it…" said Fatima, gritting his teeth. The hyenas were too spooked to attack after Morgiana's display of strength, and the twins had already taken out a large fraction of the thieves using their martial arts, but he wasn't about to let those dirty brats get away with this! "All of those things for auction… take them out!" he ordered sternly._

* * *

**Chapter 33: Miracle**

* * *

'Thank goodness… her fever's dropped…' Morgiana thought, feeling Nadja's temperature as the little girl hugged her. "I broke the handcuffs too, so everything's fine. Let's leave here as soon as we can."

'Well, that shouldn't be too difficult since she also broke the lock on the cage door…' Hope thought glibly, pushing it open.

"Uh, I hate to interrupt y'all's little Kodak moment over there… but you might wanna take a look at that!" Faith said urgently, sweat-dropping, as she pointed at the approaching new danger.

"!" Hope and Nadja started when then saw the pack of huge saber-toothed tiger-like creatures and the flock of large vultures that were being driven towards them.

"The 'Maurenian Saber-Tooth Tiger' and the 'Namideian Condor', both are imported from the Dark Continent. These carnivores possess deadly poisons… be careful! If their beaks or tusks even graze you, you'll die!" Fatima explained with a sadistic smirk.

"Hiii…" the thieves squealed, paling with fright, as they realized how easily those freed condors could turn on them. "Uwaaa_!_!" They cried, fleeing for their lives. First they get their asses kicked by some absurdly strong girls, and now this_!_? "It isn't a joke, run_!_!"

''Uwaaa!' is right…' the twins thought as beads of nervous sweat slid down the sides of their faces while they stared at the formidable line of poisonous predators. This was probably the scariest thing they had ever faced so far in this world.

"O-Onee-chan…" Nadja sobbed, trembling, as she looked up at Morgiana. Morgiana reached out and gently squeezed her hand.

"Everything's absolutely fine." She reassured the little girl with a confident smile before looking at the twins. "Watch her for me, please." she told them as she let go of Nadja's hand and sprang forth at the stalking towards them.

"Ah, hey…_!_!" Hope shouted worriedly, about to follow, when Faith stopped her and shook her head with a smile.

"Don't worry, it's fine! I've fought that girl before, so I know. She's strong, stronger than anyone!" Faith said confidently. "She's totally got this in the bag!"

'That's right, it's fine.' Morgiana thought calmly as she fought. 'If you ask why… my legs are… my body is… more than anyone or anything… fast… sharp… and strong!'

"!" Hope gasped in amazement as she watched Morgiana defeat one beast after another with her bare hands, delivering swift and lethal kicks. "She's amazing…" Not even the condors in the sky were safe from her powerful reach. She was one of the champions of the Dark Continent. The strongest warriors, the 'Fanalis' Clan!

Fatima shuddered when Morgiana's sharp, red eyes met his, and he collapsed to his knees in shock.

"Hi…Hiii…" his fellow slave traders cried out in fear as she stalked towards them. Fatima grit his teeth in anger and frustration as cold sweat dripped down the side of his face and neck. The other two slave traders turned tail and ran away to save their own skin, leaving him behind, as they scattered like the cockroaches they were. They didn't get far, though. In a matter of minutes, Faith was on them like white on rice, and she made sure to pay them back thoroughly for everything they had been put through over the past week, leaving Fatima to Morgiana. Hope sweat-dropped and covered Nadja's eyes to shield the little girl from having to witness any further violence, figuring she had been traumatized enough already for one day.

"… I give up." Fatima said reluctantly without apology. "From the view point of a slave dealer, to keep an injured slave is a mistake. No point in getting killed because of that…"

"…" Morgiana stared down at him with an extremely unimpressed look on her face.

"Don't kill me." He told her. "If you kill me, it would only show how much you hate me. Slave hunting has been carried out by many different ethnic groups. Those that fell to the lowest class sold their children, and a lot was covered up… Just like you, miserable slaves… they were profitable. That…"

_WHAM!_!

Fatima flinched when Morgiana, who had begun to tremble with suppressed rage suddenly stomped her foot against the ground with enough force to create a small crater.

"So what?" Hope said sternly with a frown. "Wrong is wrong, even if everyone's doing it. You really think you can take away someone's dignity as a human being just by changing what you call them? We're all born free, with the same inherent rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It doesn't matter how rich or poor they are, or how many talents they do or don't have. We were all created to be equally important. No one's worth more or less than anyone else. It's just ridiculous to think you could arbitrarily decide you own another person like that! We're all 'people', and we deserve to be treated as such. And no amount of chains is ever gonna change that!" she finished strongly, tightening her grip on Nadja's shoulders slightly as she, too, trembled with anger. "Which is why… we're all gonna walk out of here, including the others who are still being held in the prison. We're taking them with us too." Fatima grit his teeth again as he narrowed his eyes.

"You're the ridiculous one...!" he muttered darkly under his breath with his face cast partially in shadow.

"…" Morgiana glanced back at her for a moment out the corner of her eye before focusing her attention on Fatima again. "Give us the keys." She told him, holding out her hand.

"What?" Fatima said incredulously.

"The key to the prison." Morgiana said coolly. "Like she said, we're going to free the other people captured from before!"

"… What… you're really going through with that pitiful plan?" he asked through gritted teeth as his scowl deepened, glaring up at them, as he clenched his fists. "What a slave-like habit!" he shouted angrily at them. "Using your owner's pity!" Hope narrowed her eyes at him as both girls frowned.

"I am no longer… a slave!" Morgiana stated determinedly, furrowing her brow. That part of her life was over now, and she was never going back. Never again.

"That's right." Hope agreed firmly. "After all, you can't own something that never belonged to you in the first place… We belong only to ourselves!"

Powerless against them on his own, Fatima had no choice but to hand over the keys.

"…What… I'll make sure to kill you…" he cursed lowly under his breath, punching the ground, and trembling with frustration and humiliation as they turned their backs on him and walked away. Slave merchant Fatima, that was how he met those slaves. With a grudge against his own owner, during a one-day journey he killed them, and has since then lived under the identity of a slave trader. However, he never knew that he would meet Morgiana and the twins…

"Hey, Faith! Faith_!_!" Hope called out to her sister, who was still beating on the other slave traders. "Come on, I think you've proved your point. Anymore, and you really will kill them…" she chided her, sweat-dropping.

"Okay…" Faith said with a reluctant sigh, brushing her hands off as she straightened up and came over to join them. "Don't ever let me catch you doing this shit again, got it_!_? I'm watching you!" she told the thieves sternly as a parting shot, giving them the evil eye over her shoulder as they went to free the Aladdin and others.

"The key doesn't fit." Nadja said, pointing out the obvious to the older girls when it failed to open the door to the prison for them.

"… It seems so." Morgiana said calmly, staring at the locked door, while twins sweat-dropping, hoping they hadn't messed up the lock when they jimmied it open earlier.

"What should we do?" Nadja asked worriedly.

"It's fine. Please stand back." Morgiana told her and the twins as she got into position to kick the door in. What she was about to do was obvious to Faith and Hope, but it still came as a bit of a surprise when the force from her kick completely obliterated the four-foot thick solid wooden door. "During times like this, it's fine to break down the door."

'Then, the key wasn't needed…' Hope and Nadja thought, sweat-dropping, while Faith stared at Morgiana with sparkling eyes of admiration for the way she had totally destroyed that door like a boss without even breaking a sweat.

"You have _got_ to teach me that!" Faith told her with a grin.

"Father… Mother…" Nadja called out as they stood in the open doorway of the dark prison.

"Aladdin! We're back!" Faith and Hope called.

"Wow, they really did it_!_!" the people inside exclaimed when they saw that the twins had returned, though they didn't recognize the other girls they had with them.

"Yeah~! Welcome back!" Aladdin said brightly, waving at them from the back.

"…?" Morgiana said, taken aback when she recognized him. "What… you… can't be…_!_?"

"?" the twins said, wondering why she suddenly looked so shocked.

"Onee-san…? Aren't you that onee-san from back then?" Aladdin asked, surprised.

"Yep, it's the real deal!" Faith said with a grin. "She helped us take down the bad guys!"

"Well, more like we helped her… She did most of the heavy lifting, after all." Hope said wryly. She doubted they could have escaped those poisonous beasts unscathed without her.

"What's wrong, Aladdin?" one of their fellow captured caravan members asked.

"You guys know her?" another asked curiously.

"Yep!" Aladdin answered brightly. "See, from that story we told you before, about that strong girl Faith and I met in that dungeon."

'Oh, so that's their connection...' Hope thought, remembering how her sister had mentioned something about having fought the other girl before.

"I see, so this is that nee-chan… I've got to give her credit, she broke the door down…"

"But, why is she here?"

"That's a good question." Said Faith as they all stared curiously at Morgiana.

"… That is…" Morgiana started to explain a bit awkwardly, when they heard a shout echo from down the hall. "Anyway, everyone let's escape before the thieves notice!"

"Well, I think they've already noticed, but good point!" agreed Hope. They could chat later. Right now their first priority should be to escape.

"Escape? It's impossible with our hands and feet like this." Said one of the caravan guys, shaking his shackles.

"What, did you already forget why we snuck out in the first place?" Faith said dubiously, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Don't worry. I have the keys to your shackles…" Morgiana said with a straight face, holding up the bag of keys they had confiscated from Fatima. "They're most likely somewhere in this bag."

"Hah, good luck finding them!" Faith said, sweat-dropping, as she peered at the disorganized mess inside of it.

Fortunately, they were actually able to figure out which keys went with which shackles rather quickly. While the twins took care of that, Morgiana helped Nadja look for her parents.

"…" Morgiana smiled as she watched the small family's tearful reunion.

"In any case, I'm surprised we met again in this type of place, onee-chan!" Aladdin said cheerfully while his shackles were being unlocked for him.

"Yes… That is… I'm glad you seem well." Said Morgiana. "I didn't see you after coming out of the seventh dungeon, so I was worried…"

"Yep, a lot of stuff happened~"

"Umm… you seem like a strong person, so how did those thieves manage to capture you? What happened to that other girl you were with?" she asked curiously.

"Huh? You mean Faith? That's her over there with her sister." Aladdin said, pointing over at the twins.

"Eh_!_?" Morgiana said, taken aback. Which one? They looked exactly alike! She totally hadn't realized… both of them looked so different from the ginger-haired girl she remembered with their hair dyed and dressed in the Kouga Clan's clothing.

"As for how I got captured…" Aladdin continued to explain. "Huge rocks suddenly came tumbling down on the caravan's cart… at that moment, I blacked out, and when I came to, my friends and I had been captured. Faith and Hope could have gotten away, but they came back for me. I couldn't be useful, and I couldn't even borrow everyone's power, either…" Even though the twins had told him not worry about it, it still bugged him that he couldn't help.

"... 'Everyone'…?" Morgiana asked, wondering what he was talking about.

"Over here!" they heard shout from down the tunnel.

"Hurry up!" another sounded closer.

"It's the thieves!" some of the people standing lookout cried.

"They stole the slaves' keys_!_? If they escape it'll be a huge loss!" the head thief shouted. "Absolutely do not let them escape! Capture them!" he ordered sternly.

"Yes!" his brothers answered dutifully as they ran with the other remaining thieves, carrying many small bundles of herbs. They quickly lit the bundles and tossed them down into the tunnel leading to the prison.

"Close up the exit." The head thief ordered. "Fortunately, this is the only entrance to the prison… and, by burning these herbal plants, we can fill the basement with a paralyzing smoke. The slaves will black out, and then we'll capture them. Hey, freakishly strong twins and Fanalis—or should I call you monster—if you haven't left yet, we'll kill you!" he shouted at the girls through the crack as his men closed the door, shutting everyone inside with the burning herbs.

"This is bad!" one of the men cried as everyone tried to cover their mouths and breath as possible.

"…" Morgiana furrowed her brow. 'If I'm captured again, I won't be able to save everyone…!' she thought worried as her eyes began to tear up from the sting of the smoke.

"What should we do_!_?" Nadja's mother cried anxiously.

"Ah! Aladdin, look who we found hiding with the keys_!_!" Faith said, suddenly, holding up Ugo's flute with a triumphant grin.

"Ah!" Aladdin gasped excitedly. Hope smirked.

"If the path is blocked, then we'll just make a new one, right?" she said.

"Right!" Aladdin said with a smile as they handed over the flute, happy to be of use again.

Meanwhile, a large force was galloping towards the thieves' fortress under the hot desert sun. Most of the band of rugged mercenaries was grim and silent as they urged their camels forward.

"I'm indebted to you. I was arrested for the sake of my comrades for employing those tactics… " The scar-faced boss told Sahsa's father as they rode alongside each other. After his caravan leader had given up on rescuing the others despite the twin's success in sending back his little furry friend with directions to the thieves' hideout strapped to his back, he had tried a very desperate and less than scrupulous move that had almost ended in disaster.

"Your friend's caravan abandoned you, huh? However, now your companion is this armed force, which could also be considered your enemy… whether or not that is your wish is another thing though…" said Sahsa's father. "Hey, Leila! Sahsa!" he shouted back at the girls, who were following them on their own camel. "I told you to wait at the inn!" he scolded them, concerned for their safety.

"As if Morgiana would just leave without saying a word! Sorry, but, for a comrade, I won't be scared off by those thieves!" Leila yelled back determinedly. 'Everyone… Morgiana… please, somehow be all right!' she thought earnestly.

"What…?" The men said, squinting, when they realized they could see people moving on the ground in the distance. "Someone came out from the fortress…?"

"_!_!" Sahsa's father gasped when the fleeing people rushed closer. "Aren't you a thief_!_!" The men looked really shady, but they were so frightened of whatever they were running from that they had actually begun to shed tears.

"Help us, please help us_!_!" the thieves cried.

"Wh-What's wrong with them?" Sahsa's father asked, sweat-dropping.

"Blue…" one of the thieves said with a shudder.

"Blue?" Leila asked, also sweat-dropping.

"Gia—It's a giant!" they man cried, just as Aladdin and Ugo climbed up over the ridge behind them. Ugo was still clutching some unconscious thieves in his huge fist.

_"HYAAAAAAAA!_!" the remaining thieves screamed in horror when they saw them. "Monster! Just what is that thing_!_?" they cried as they ran for their lives.

"… Hey…" Leila said as she, Sahsa, Sasha's father, and the boss just stood there, staring up at the blue giant. "Th-That is…"

"Yeah…" Sahsa said, sweat-dropping. "Uhm…" There could only be one person responsible for this…


	34. Chapter 34

**Previously:**

_"Help us, please help us!_!" _the thieves cried._

_"Wh-What's wrong with them?" Sahsa's father asked, sweat-dropping._

_"Blue…" one of the thieves said with a shudder._

_"Blue?" Leila asked, also sweat-dropping._

_"Gia—It's a giant!" they man cried, just as Aladdin and Ugo climbed up over the ridge behind them. Ugo was still clutching some unconscious thieves in his huge fist._

_"HYAAAAAAAA!_!"_ the remaining thieves screamed in horror when they saw them. "Monster! Just what is that thing!_?"_ they cried as they ran for their lives._

_"… Hey…" Leila said as she, Sahsa, Sasha's father, and the boss just stood there, staring up at the blue giant. "Th-That is…"_

_"Yeah…" Sahsa said, sweat-dropping. "Uhm…" There could only be one person responsible for this…_

* * *

**Chapter 34: Banquet**

* * *

"Ah~ Thanks for saving us." Aladdin said brightly while Morgiana waved goodbye to Nadja and her parents. "It's a good thing my flute was inside that bag of keys."

"For real." Faith said with a smirk while their friends from the caravan and the boss grinned.

"Yeah, that was a close one!" Hope said with a wry smile. The boss smiled. He was really glad to see that his favorite trio of siblings had made it out all right. He had gotten pretty attached to these kids. He really admired the way they looked out for each other.

"In any case, I didn't think you'd be acquaintances…" he said thoughtfully. Who would have thought they also had connections to old his friend's caravan.

"Aladdin! Faith! Do you remember?" Leila asked excitedly.

"Actually, that's Faith." Hope said, pointing to her sister, who gave a little wave.

"Eh? Oh, sorry! It's kind of hard to tell you apart…" Leila apologized, feeling a bit lame now. They really did have the same face… the only thing that could be used to mark who was who was their gold necklaces, which had different markings (actually the girl's monogramed initials in English) on them.

"I remember!" Aladdin said cheerfully before the silence had a chance to get too awkward. "That friendly onee-san and…" He pointed at Sahsa. "That unfriendly onee-san!" he finished, pointing at Leila.

"Pft!" Faith laughed while Leila pinched his cheeks for that. Hope sweat-dropped and smiled wryly at their antics. Poor Leila she had looked so excited too see him again, too.

"Same brat as always, Aladdin!" Leila said, chagrined, while poor Aladdin massaged his sore cheeks.

"Really? I think you've changed a little bit." Sahsa told him with a smile. "Compared to before, you've kinda… become stronger."

"Oh, now that she mentions it, I think you have." Hope said with a smile. They'd been together everyday, so the change hadn't appeared as drastic to them.

"Yeah, I think you've gotten a little taller, too." Faith said, holding out a hand to measure his approximate height.

"Is that so?" Aladdin said with a smile, looking a little proud of himself. "Well, I have crossed the desert!"

"Yeah, that was tough." The twins agreed with wry smiles.

"What! Up until now you've been outside of the desert_!_?" Leila cried, taken aback, as she and Sahsa both flinched in surprise. How did that happen?

"Then, the fact that we met here today is an amazing coincidence…" said Sahsa.

"The world is huge; this can't be just a coincidence…" Leila said, sweat-dropping, as she pinched Aladdin's cheek again.

"That's not completely wrong." Said Sahsa's father. "During my travels I often make friends and reunite with the most unexpected people." He explained, smiling as he bumped fists with the boss.

"Likewise, after ten or twenty years, you still continue to keep up that caravan…" the boss agreed with a grin. "In the world, there is a strange 'force' that binds people together…"

"Heh~" Faith said as the girls stared at the old men with smiles. Who'd have thought these guys were old bros?

"That's right. Just as that person said." Aladdin agreed, holding Baba's staff. "In the world, there is a thread that binds us together… People are bonded together by strong guiding force we call 'chance meetings'. Though we may be separated, surely… those important peoples' spirits are by our sides…" Morgiana looked up at the sky as she thought back to the voice she had heard that had helped her find the strength to break free from her shackles.

'At that time, I'm certain… I heard Goltas' voice…' she thought. He had saved her again.

"Hmm, string of fate, huh…?" Faith said with a Cheshire cat grin, eyeing her sister. "Doesn't that mean you're also tied 'you-know-who'?" she teased slyly, referring to Kouen as she wiggled her pinky, indicating she was clearly implying there might be some kind of red string love-connection between the two of them.

"Cut it out." Hope told her, blushing a little as she sweat-dropped, chagrined at her sister's teasing. "It wasn't like that at all, and you know it."

"What wasn't like what?" Leila and Sahsa asked curiously.

"Well, it's a long story… But let's just say we're on the run from a very controlling ex-boyfriend of hers!" Faith answered with a brilliant shit-eating grin, causing Hope to face-palm.

"I just said it wasn't like that_!_!"

Later that evening, the caravans met at the inn to celebrate everyone's liberation and the defeat of the thieves.

"That's great, Morgiana! You can go to Balbadd." said Sahsa's father. "As planned, we will bring you along to Balbadd so you can return to your hometown. There is infighting, though, so we cannot enter… This is the closest we can take you." He explained pointing out the spot on the map, just a couple miles on its outskirts. "Be careful."

"Oh, are you going to Balbadd too, Morgiana?" Hope asked pleasantly.

"Us too!" Said Faith.

"Let's go together!" said Aladdin with a big smile.

"They went to Qishan, but… the guy they wanted to see wasn't there, so they're heading to Balbadd now." The boss explained for them with a smile.

'They must be talking about Alibaba…' Morgiana thought.

"Good timing, why don't we all go together?" Hope suggested with a smile.

"Sounds good to me!" said Faith with a grin. There's no way they'd get captured again with if the four of them stuck together!

"Yep!" Aladdin agreed with a smile, offering his hand to Morgiana.

"…" Morgiana looked at them and then down at her own hand for a moment. "… I have no objection." She said as they took Aladdin's hand, deciding to accept.

"All right, it's decided!" Aladdin said as everyone smiled. Well, almost everyone.

"No way~ Morgiana, you're leaving? Your leaving?" Leila asked, crying, as she leaned against the redhead with a flushed face, causing the others to flinch slightly in surprise. "I'll be sad~"

"Yes, yes." Sahsa said placatingly with a wry smile, sweat-dropping.

'Just how much has she had to drink already…?' the twins wondered, sweat-dropping as they eyed the wine sloshing around in Leila's cup.

"Then, as a blessing for everyone's journey ahead… shall we have a great feast in both caravans?" Sahsa's father asked, raising his own cup.

The answer was, of course, a resounding 'yes'. Large trays of food and drink were brought out, and soon everyone was making merry. Sahsa's father and the boss talked and laughed about old times while drinking, and occasionally the boss's little shoulder pet would sneak a sip. Leila cried and clung to Morgiana, while the twins entertained everyone with a skit about a girl who left her chewing gum on a public bench, and the various things that happened to it after that when it was found by the next people to come along, such as (among other things): being sat on, being thrown on the ground, and being stepped on. The skit ended with the girl coming back for her gum. Finding it back in it's starting position, she (Faith) exclaimed "Just where I left it!" and popped it back into her mouth as is nothing had ever happened, which earned a lot of laughs and many sounds of amused disgust from the audience. (It had all been mimed, of course. Neither of the twins would ever really eat gum off of a public bench.) Aladdin smiled and laughed while he sat in Sahsa's lap, and she fed him lots of yummy food, but his fun was brought to an end when Leila spotted him nuzzling Sahsa's full chest and came over to rip him off of her. But Aladdin didn't go without a fight, and he clung to Sahsa with all his might while keeping his face buried in her boobs. Morgiana was watching some of the men perform a balancing act with an umbrella and some fruit, when a few of the other onlookers suggested she show them a trick as well. Caught off guard by the request, Morgiana nervously wondered what she should do, but quickly settled on demonstrating her ability to use her superhuman speed and strength to run straight up one of the walls. The other flinched in surprise and quickly awarded her with a hearty round of applause. Morgiana let out a sigh as she wiped the sweat from her brow. She perked up a bit in surprise when Aladdin, the twins, Leila, and Sahsa came over to party with her.

"…" Morgiana stared at their smiling faces as they chatted away excitedly, and looked up into the night sky. It was so warm and lively… It was her first time ever having this much fun. Once again, Morgiana thought about how grateful she was to be free.

Five days later…

"All right, from here to Balbadd, you'll have to walk." Sahsa's father said when it came time for them to part near an oasis on the outskirts of the city.

"Bye!" Sahsa said as they girls waved goodbye to their four mysterious friends.

"We _have_ to meet again!" said Leila.

"Yep!" Aladdin agreed as he waved back with the twins and Morgiana as they watched the caravan ride father and father away and they continued along their route.

"Okay, let's go!" Hope said brightly. They might be able to reach the Balbadd before dark.

"Yeah~!" Aladdin and Faith cheered, pumping their arms in the air enthusiastically.

"Yes." Morgiana responded more quietly.

"From now on, please take care of us, Morgiana-san!" Aladdin said cheerfully as they walked.

"Yes."

'So taciturn…' the twins thought, sweat-dropping, as they smiled wryly.

"Hey… 'Morgiana-san' is kinda long, so can I call you something else?" Aladdin asked.

"… Whatever…" Morgiana said, not really sure how to respond.

"Then, 'Morg-san!'" Aladdin suggested brightly.

"…" Once again, Morgiana didn't know how she should respond to that. Aladdin and the twins sweat-dropped at the lengthy silence.

"Don't like it?" he asked.

"… It's fine." Morgiana told him. She just wasn't used to it yet. Her three new friends smiled.

"Okay, let's go, Morg-san~!" they said cheerfully.


	35. Chapter 35

**Previously:**

_"Hey… 'Morgiana-san' is kinda long, so can I call you something else?" Aladdin asked._

_"… Whatever…" Morgiana said, not really sure how to respond._

_"Then, 'Morg-san!'" Aladdin suggested brightly._

_"…" Once again, Morgiana didn't know how she should respond to that. Aladdin and the twins sweat-dropped at the lengthy silence._

_"Don't like it?" he asked._

_"… It's fine." Morgiana told him. She just wasn't used to it yet. Her three new friends smiled._

_"Okay, let's go, Morg-san~!" they said cheerfully._

* * *

**Chapter 35: The Road to Balbadd**

* * *

After Aladdin, the twins, and Morgiana's activities, the fortress's band of thieves was also no more.

"I will bear our hardships, younger brothers." S Nando, the former head thief and the oldest son of his family reassured his little bros as they trudged through the desert.

"Nii-chan, I'm hungry~" the second and largest son, L Nando cried miserably.

"All of our stored goods and subordinates… all of them lost…" lamented the beautiful third son, M Nando.

"Don't worry…" S Nando told them. "We'll head to Balbadd and gather new underlings. Right now, there is a rebellion and terrorists are there… So let's take advantage of that."

"But, even so, we'll need funds…" said M. "The only thing we managed to grab was this strange bag…" he added, holding up the twins' tote, which was mostly full of a bunch of nonsensical items that the brothers couldn't make heads or tails of. He doubted they'd be able to sell any of it, since it seemed like a bunch of useless junk.

"Nii-chan, over there, over there." Said L, pointing at something lying on the ground in the shade of one of the trees in the oasis they had just entered.

"Hm?" S said as they moved closer to get a better look.

"It's a person…" said L.

"He's sleeping." Said M. "He smells like alcohol, though… is he drunk?"

"…" S stroked his beard as he stared at the passed out drunk, thinking.

"Nii-chan, I want to drink, too~" L cried, suddenly remembering how hungry and thirsty he was again.

"What should we do…?" M asked S.

"Fufufu…" S chuckled with a grin. "Brothers… It seems luck is still with us. Look! This man's clothes!" he said, pointing out all the expensive jewelry and fine fabrics the sleeping stranger was wearing.

"Wow~ That's really expensive!" M and L said, impressed.

"Let's steal it all…" S said with a smirk.

"Hey, hey… Morg-san is heading to Balbadd so that you can take a boat back to your homeland, right~?" Aladdin said as he strolled along through the oasis with the three girls.

"Yes… and… I wanted to meet you and Faith-san and Alibaba-san again." Morgiana replied softly. "I wanted to thank you…"

"Thank_?_?" Aladdin and the twins said curiously.

"… That's right… by using the treasure, Alibaba-san liberated me from my social position…" Morgiana explained. "He liberated two slaves without asking anything in return… In order to fulfill our promise, I will return to my hometown where he could not… I will do what I want to do by my own will… Before I met the three of you, I didn't think about anything… You granted me a free future… I am really grateful… Thank you, Aladdin-san and Faith-san." She said, bowing deeply as she kneeled on the ground before them. "You too, Hope-san… for the things you said back in the fortress… You didn't know me, and yet you both rushed in to help…"

"Oh, hey! You don't have to go that far…!" Faith told her with a wry smile as Aladdin and Hope got a bit flustered upon seeing her prostrating herself like that.

"That's right, there's no need to thank us… rather, I think we should be thanking you! You helped us all escape, after all." Hope reminded her.

"That's right, I'm glad you're happy!" Aladdin said with a smile. "I'm sure Alibaba-kun feels the same way, we don't need any praise! Because, I think, Alibaba-kun is a really kind person!" Morgiana smiled slightly at that.

"Though, it is nice to receive some proper appreciation from time to time…" Faith said with a grin, earning herself a light elbow in the ribs from Hope for ruining the moment.

"Ah~ I really want to see Alibaba-kun soon…" Aladdin said as Morgiana straightened up.

"Haha, you really like Alibaba-kun, huh?" Hope asked with a smile. From the way Aladdin liked to gush about him, he must be a great guy.

"Yeah, teasing him is fun~!" Faith said brightly.

"… We'll meet him if we follow this road." Morgiana said, pointing down the path they were on.

"Yep, that's right!" Aladdin said excitedly. 'At the end of this road… are Alibaba-kun and his hometown!' he thought with a smile, imagining his friend waiting for them with open arms. As they continued on, they did indeed meet someone who was waiting for them with open arms, but it wasn't Alibaba. The young travelers froze like four deer stuck in a pair oncoming headlights when they found a naked man blocking their path. He was tall and extremely handsome with purple hair, amber eyes, and lean, well-defined muscles; but he for some reason he was only wearing a pair of gold hoop earrings and giant leaf to cover the front of his crotch.

"Hey, you guys! Nice weather today, huh?" the strange man greeted them pleasantly with a dazzling smile.

"!" they gasped, quickly snapping out of their stunned stupor.

'Hallelujah, it's raining men~_!_!' Faith thought with a Cheshire cat grin while the kids started to freak out.

"This is bad, stand back!" Aladdin immediately told the girls, concerned for their safety. "It might be a monster_!_!" he said seriously, causing the man to flinch in shock.

"It's all right! Leave this to me!" Morgiana said, keeping her eyes squeezed shut, as she assuming a fighting stance.

"Huh_!_? No, you're wrong! Listen to me!" the man said urgently.

"No, leave this to me! This is a job for an adult!" faith said seriously as she stepped forward.

"?" the man said when she marched straight up to him, stopping only an inch away. She looked up at him with a gleam in her eye and smirked.

"Well, hello, sailor~!" She purred, letting out a whistle of appreciation, as she lightly ran the tip of her finger up his abs of steel.

"No! It's dangerous, Faith-san…_!_!" Morgiana exclaimed.

"What if it bites_!_?" Aladdin cried in alarm.

"Oh, I hope he does~" Faith teased with a carnivorous grin, making the kids (who clearly didn't get the innuendo) flinch in shock.

"Okay, Y'all to calm the heck down. It's _just_ a naked man, for crying out loud!" Hope said firmly, trying to be the voice of reason. She was sure they'd all seen much stranger things than this on their journey. "… Especially _you_!" she snapped as she grabbed her sister by the ear to pull her back to a more reasonable distance away from the stranger. "What are you doing? You don't know where he's been, much less whether he's had all his shots or not. Control your hormones, woman!" she scolded her sister in a whisper-yell, as if they were talking about a stray dog.

"Um… I can hear everything you're saying…" the man said a bit chagrined, sweat-dropping.

"Aw, but he's hot! Can't we keep him?" Faith asked with a pout while she massaged her poor ear.

"Well, I suppose that depends…" Hope said, eyeing the stranger critically. "Who are you? What are you doing wandering around naked like that? Are you some kind of pervert?" she asked the man bluntly, also a little on edge. "Depending on your answer, we may have to kick your ass."

"Sure, but… before that, I don't suppose you have any spare clothes I could borrow? I'm not walking around like this by choice…" The man said, laughing a bit awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. The way Faith was staring at him so intensely was a little unnerving… Normally he wouldn't mind being ogled by a pretty girl, but something about this one made him feel really uncomfortable… Instead of attraction, the chill he felt earlier when she touched him had been the kind you get when your body instinctively senses danger.

"Eh? You want to borrow Hope's clothes_!_?" Aladdin gasped in as the four of them stared at him with expressions ranging from mild surprise/amusement to shock and fear at his (imagined) preference for cross-dressing.

"I was talking about you! Please try using a little more common sense!" the man snapped impatiently with a vein throbbing on his forehead. The hell was wrong with these guys_!_?

"Thanks for lending me these clothes, Aladdin!" he said brightly, in a much better mood now that he had been clothed and fed. Despite their initial hostility and harassment, these kids had turned out to be pretty nice once they had calmed down.

"Mm! Sorry about my clothes being so small, though." Aladdin said. His pants were so ridiculously tiny on the man that they looked like little short-shorts. Which Faith did not mind in the least. Hope seemed relatively unfazed (decided to just treat it like seeing a statue in an art museum since he was sculpted like one), but poor Morgiana had received a big shock and was too embarrassed to look directly at him for some time after that.

"My name is Sin." The man continued with a smile, finally introducing himself. "I'm a merchant heading to Balbadd, but I got totally cleaned out by some bandits along the way."

"Ah." The twins said, nodding in understanding. They'd just had a bad experience with thieves themselves.

"I see… No wonder…" Hope said thoughtfully, holding her chin. That seemed plausible enough.

"Wow, even your clothes? That really sucks." Faith said sympathetically.

"Sorry for not listening to your story…" Aladdin apologized, feeling a bit guilty now about how he had overreacted earlier. "There are many dangerous things when crossing the desert, so I guess I've become a little paranoid…"

"Oh, so you're crossing the desert at that age?" Sin asked, impressed.

"That's right! We've crossed the central desert together all the way from the Kouga Village in the Northern Tenzan Plateau!" Aladdin said brightly, throwing his arms around the twins. "There are tons of rare plants and animals!"

"Yes, and we've met lots of interesting people, too!" Hope said with a smile, remembering all the different cultures they were able to sample along the way.

"Yeah, and there was lots of other cool stuff, too!" Faith added, thinking of all the shiny things, treasure, and good food they had seen and eaten along the way.

"Good for you!" Sin said with a smile, sounding a little envious. It had been a while since he was able to enjoy an adventure like that. "I love adventurous tales like that." He continued, stirring the campfire. "That sense of euphoria from seeing unknown lands and the knowledge you come across… Nothing can replace it. It opens a path from which self-confidence, experience, and important friendships, from the sharing of life or death situations, are born… But hearing it just isn't the same… I want to create my own magnificent story! A great adventure! Because an adventure… is a man's romance!" he said passionately with shining eyes as he looked up from the fire, staring off into the distance at a vision only he could see. Aladdin and the twins stared at him in astonished amazement. Aladdin was lit up with childlike wonder and admiration, while some more mature and less pure emotions stirred in Faith.

"You, me. Those bushes. _Now_." Faith told Sin with a straight face and lustful gleam in her eye, earning herself a swift Gibbs slap from Hope.

"Cut it out." Hope deadpanned while Aladdin and Sin sweat-dropped. "None of that in front of the kids, okay?"

'That Faith girl is really aggressive…' Sin thought, taking a moment to note which twin appeared to be the more dangerous of the two. She made him nervous, and not in a good way.

"Umm… Aren't we hurrying to Balbadd?" Morgiana spoke up after a moment. "We wanted to arrive before nightfall, but…"

"Ah! That's right!" Hope said, surprised when she realized how easily she had lost track of time.

"Oh! I'm sorry, young lady!" Sin apologized politely to Morgiana while the twins put out the fire so they could get going again. "We got a bit carried away talking about adventures."

"I know. I understand how you feel, ojii-san!" Aladdin said excitedly as they started to walk.

"'Ojii-san?' Aladdin, shouldn't it be 'onii-san' instead?" Hope said with a wry smile. The man didn't look any older than his late twenties. Upon hearing that, Sin immediately decided that Hope was his favorite twin.

"Yeah, but I think adventures are a woman's romance, too!" said Faith as if she hadn't heard a thing. "Remember that time with that huge sandstorm, when the axle on the cart broke, and we went land yachting in it to get away_!_? That was awesome_!_!"

"Yeah, that was fun!" Aladdin exclaimed, getting an adrenaline rush just thinking about it. "How did you know that would work, Hope?"

"Well," Hope said, "we'd done it before with our father, so…"

"Excuse me, did you say 'land yachting'?" Sin asked curiously.

"It's like sailing, but on land." the twins said in perfect unison, as if it should have been obvious.

"I see…" Sin said, sweat-dropping.

"I calculated the size and angle the sail would need to be in order to be able to lift the wagon using the strong winds from the storm coming up behind us…" Hope explained.

"… And then I helped her make it out of everyone's blankets!" Faith finished.

"Oh, amazing!" Sin praised them. These twins were pretty handy. "You must be very proud of your big sisters." he told Aladdin. They didn't look a thing alike, but they seemed very close.

"Hehe~" Aladdin smiled happily, blushing a little, as he beamed with pride.

"Um … Are you three really related?" Morgiana asked curiously. Come to think of it, their friends from the caravan had referred to them as 'siblings' too, but the twins and Aladdin didn't look alike at all, and their scents were way too different…

"Uh, no, not really…" Aladdin admitted a bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"The people in our caravan just assumed we were, and we didn't bother correcting them, 'cause we've sorta ended up adopting each other, right?" Faith said with a grin.

"Right." Hope agreed with a smile as they both put an arm around their 'little brother'.

"I see!" Sin said with a smile. "One of the perks of going on a journey is meeting sweet young ladies like yourselves."

"Heh~" Faith said with a smirk. "You really do sound like an 'ojii-san' when you talk like that." she teased to his chagrin.

"…" Sin glanced at Morgiana, who had remained silent the whole time. With that hair and those eyes…

"Umm… what is it?" Morgiana asked when she noticed his staring.

"Hm?" said Sin, realizing a little too late that he had been caught.

"Ah!" Faith said suddenly, snapping her fingers, as if she'd just had a brilliant epiphany. "You're a lolicon, aren't you?"

"I was just thinking about how interesting this journey has been so far, and how quiet and well-behaved this young is!" Sin ground out through a brilliant shit-eating grin as a vein popped on his forehead. "You should try it sometime!"

"Hey, are we there yet?" Aladdin asked.

"I don't know…" Hope said, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun as she looked ahead. "From how it looked on the map, I thought we'd be able to see it by now…"

"Just over that hill, you'll be able to see the town." Sin informed them, pointing out how the land in front of them was beginning to form an upwards slope.

"Really?" Aladdin asked excitedly. "It's not invisible?"

"I can smell the sea…" Morgiana said, sniffing the air.

"Oh, now that you mention it…" Hope said, inhaling as a light sea breeze reached them, while Aladdin and Faith rushed ahead. Standing at the top of the hill, they could see a very lively and exotic port city stretching out below them.

"Cool!" Faith said.

"So this is…" Aladdin said, amazed.

"Balbadd!" Morgiana finished as she and the others came up from behind, staring in astonishment at the amazing scene before them. The twins grinned. They couldn't wait to explore!

"That's right, this is the Kingdom of Balbadd. But, being the smallest country on the continent, rather than calling it a country, one should be calling it a city. Its independence can be solely attributed to its good diplomatic relations with the other the other countries on the continent. Though it's capital city, Balbadd, is on the continent, the country is actually comprised of several hundreds of small islands. It is a great oceanic nation. Balbadd is part of the northern oasis countries and has been trading with Western Partevia since long ago, thus allowing it to flourish." Sin explained brightly as he guided them through the streets of the city. The market was very colorful, and filled with all sorts of sights and sounds. People seemed to be doing trade everywhere they looked. It reminded Hope of their vacation in Saida, Lebanon. Although they were from different worlds, the two cities appeared to share many traits, including similar architecture, trade, and fishing. "Various races. A blend of cultures. Balbadd once differed from surrounding countries, but, though it has changed, it still holds the feeling of a country. For generations, the royal Saluja family has been ruling and serving the country wholeheartedly. However, since the last king passed away…" Sin continued, pausing when he spotted some graffiti calling for the abolishment of the monarchy on a wall near a particularly run-down street. "… The country has become disheveled."

"…" Hope frowned slightly when she noticed the increased amount of vagrants on the street and how serious his expression had become. Sin noticed her concern and smiled.

"But you'll be safe here." He said, perking up when they reached their destination, which was a very large and grandiose building that reminded the twins very much of a five-star hotel that they had once stayed at in. "It's the finest luxury hotel in the country, where I always stay!" Sin finished with a brilliant smile, confirming their suspicions.

"That's great, and all…" Hope said with a wry smile, sweat-dropping. But she and her sister weren't exactly made of money anymore…

"But, I'm worried about the cost…" Morgiana said, sharing her concerns. "I worked in a caravan for the past six months, so I have money, but I don't have that much…"

"Me too…" Said Aladdin.

"What if we put all our money together and shared a room?" Faith suggested, eager to sleep in a real bed with quality sheets and have a warm bath in a real tub for a change.

"Well, we might be able to afford one room if we pooled our resources, but I don't think we should spend all of our money on a room…" Hope said sadly with a sigh. They still had to eat and pay for other various expenses…

"Don't worry about any~thing." Sinbad said lightly. "Leave the charges to me. It's my way of thanking you for helping me. My subordinates should've arrived before us, so they'll pay. I really like this place, so I hope you'll stay here tonight." He said with a kind, reassuring smile.

"!" they all gasped in surprise and amazement at his generosity.

"You're the best_!_!_!_" The twins squealed gratefully, so excited that both of them immediately glomped him without thinking, though he didn't seem to mind. He had no idea how much the small comfort of a being able to experience a few familiar luxuries meant to them. As far as they were concerned, he was an angel!

"Thank you, ojii-san~" Aladdin said brightly, while Morgiana bowed repeatedly. "You're really rich, aren't you!" Sin just smiled and laughed in response. They had no idea.

"_!_?" He said, flinching in shock when he felt a sharp pinch on his firm behind, and he realized it had been one of the twins.

"Hey, Cut that out!" Hope scolded her sister with a vein throbbing on her forehead, pinching the offending hand. "Geez! Don't repay his kindness with harassment!"

"Tch!" Faith clicked her tongue, clearly disappointed that she had been caught before she could do more. Sin sweat-dropped. He really couldn't let his guard down around this one… With that, he waved goodbye and went on ahead of them into the hotel.

"During travels, even heroic young men need a helping hand…" he thought aloud with a satisfied smile on his face as he watched Aladdin talk excitedly with the girls. "All right! Then I should head to my own room!" Sin said, strolling bold as brass into the lobby. He didn't care at all about the strange looks the other patrons were giving him for his lack of proper clothing and shoes. Unfortunately, the hotel's security did, and they quickly rushed over to apprehend him.

"Hey, you! You're suspicious!" the men shouted, surrounding him.

"Huh_!_?" Sinbad said, flinching in shock. "How am I suspicious_!_?"

"You're suspicious no matter how I look at you!" their boss shouted with a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"…" Aladdin and Morgiana sweat-dropped as they watched, wondering if they should do something. Faith was really struggling not to laugh.

"Um, excuse me…" Hope said politely, stepping forward. "But maybe it would be better if you had one of your subordinates called down to vouch for you?" she suggested tentatively with a wry smile.

"Oh! That's a great idea!" Sin said.

"…" the two subordinates in question said as they watched the scene he was making from a safe distance away.

"He's here…" a tall, red-haired man with a piercing under his lower lip said.

"Honestly, what took him so long…" grumbled a silver-haired man with freckles. "Sin-sama!" he called out as they stepped forward to claim their troublesome master. "Where have you been up until now?"

"?" Aladdin and Morgiana said curiously.

'Hallelujah, it really is raining men today!' Faith thought, taking note of their good looks.

"… I see… so our master has caused you trouble." The silver-haired man said once they had finished relating the story of how they met. "In accordance with our master's wishes, leave the hotel charges to us." He told the young travellers with a smile.

"Thank you! Subordinate onii-sans!" Aladdin said excitedly.

"Yes, thank you very much!" Hope said with a radiant smile, while Morgiana bowed.

"Now, please don't stray from us again." The silver-haired man told Sin sternly, holding onto his master as if he was concerned he might wander off like a disobedient toddler as they herded him away.

"See ya later, guys! Let's eat something together tomorrow!" Sin called back to them with a smile and a wave.

"It's a date!" Faith agreed eagerly on everyone's behalf.

"…" The silent red-haired man stared at Morgiana as they parted.

"!" Morgiana said when she noticed, wondering why.

"… As I thought, that girl bothers me!" Masrur declared once they had entered a private room to talk.

"She's also a Fanalis… I was surprised, too." Sin said brightly.

"Yes. Well, it is uncommon." Masrur said.

"I see. I was also surprised when I first met you." Ja'far said with a smile. "By the way, Sin, it can't be that all of your luggage got stolen again, right?"

"It got stolen." Sin replied bluntly with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Ja'far stared blankly at him for a moment, stunned.

"… Everything but your clothes… No way… even all the tools…_!_?" Ja'far asked.

"Everything was stolen." Sinbad admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Including is clothes. Masrur braced Ja'far when his knees buckled slightly, and he began to tremble, turning livid with rage.

"You… Did you somehow forget…_!_?" Ja'far demanded incredulously, wrapping his hands around Sinbad's throat, shaking him so violently that he looked like a bobble head. "Did you forget how this country is dying_!_?" he asked furiously while Sinbad just continued to smile and laugh like and idiot despite the fact that he was practically being throttled.

"Haha, it's fine, it's fine." Sin said calmly, rubbing his sore throat when Ja'far finally released him.

"It's not fine!" Ja'far snapped.

"Well, somehow or another, leave it to me!" Sin said, confident that he would figure something out.

"Honestly, you…" Ja'far said with a vein throbbing on his forehead. "Just when are you going to awaken to your responsibilities as king? King Sinbad!" Sinbad simply stared at him for a moment before giving him a light jab in the arm.

"Don't expose that~~~!" he said, imitating the way he thought Hope had sounded scolding her randy sister earlier. He'd had fun playing with their little group, and it was kind of refreshing not to be treated like a king for the first time in a long while.

"What kind of speech is that_!_?" Ja'far asked, grossed out to hear a grown man talking that way.

"This is your room." The maid said with a smile as she showed Aladdin, the twins, and Morgiana their room. The four of them had decided to stick together and share after all.

"Waaaah! It's gorgeous!" Aladdin exclaimed excitedly as he dashed into the dazzling room.

"Mwahaha~! Come to mama_!_!" Faith cried as they both leaped onto the beds and rolled around, enjoying the soft, cloud-like mattresses and bedding. Hope just stood in the middle of the room, smiling blissfully, as she enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by luxury again, while Morgiana walked over to the windows and opened them for everyone out of habit.

"If there's anything you don't understand, please don't hesitate to ask." The maid said with a smile.

"Then, onee-san, I have a question for you…" Aladdin said as the maid turned to leave.

"Yes, what is it?" she asked pleasantly.

"Do you know a guy named Alibaba? He's my friend." Aladdin said with a smile.

CLANG!

They were all bit startled when the maid suddenly dropped the tray in her hand, and it hit the floor with a clatter.

"… Are you all right?" Hope asked.

"What's wrong…?" Aladdin asked, puzzled by her odd reaction.

"Excuse me, that name just surprised me a bit." The maid said with a nervous smile. "Now that I think about it, that name isn't so uncommon. Your friend has the same name as a famous person in this country…"

"A famous person?" Faith asked.

"Right now, 'Balbadd's Alibaba'… refers to… 'Wonder Man Alibaba'. This country's number one criminal."


	36. Chapter 36

**Previously:**

_They were all bit startled when the maid suddenly dropped the tray in her hand, and it hit the floor with a clatter._

_"… Are you all right?" Hope asked._

_"What's wrong…?" Aladdin asked, puzzled by her odd reaction._

_"Excuse me, that name just surprised me a bit." The maid said with a nervous smile. "Now that I think about it, that name isn't so uncommon. Your friend has the same name as a famous person in this country…"_

_"A famous person?" Faith asked._

_"Right now, 'Balbadd's Alibaba'… refers to… 'Wonder Man Alibaba'. This country's number one criminal."_

* * *

**Chapter 36: His Name is Sinbad**

* * *

"Fuaaa~~~" Aladdin yawned as he stretched in bed, having just awoken. "Good morning, Hope, Faith, and Morg-san." He greeted the girls while he rubbed the sleep from his eyes when he noticed they were already awake and sitting on Morgiana's bed with her, chatting quietly so they wouldn't wake him.

"Morning!" The twins greeted him, while Morgiana nodded.

"Though it's already noon…" Morgiana pointed out.

"Fufufu, I was so excited last night, that I just passed out from exhaustion." Aladdin said with a grin, hugging one of the pillows.

"Yes…" Morgiana agreed with a nod. They all had.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I've slept so well~!" Hope said with a radiant smile as she rolled on the bed, feeling completely refreshed. She had managed to sleep the whole night through for once!

"Last night was fun!" Faith said with a grin. Aladdin had brought Ugo out so he could enjoy the room for a bit too, and they ended up jumping on the beds and having a big pillow fight. "We should do that more often."

"It was a good that Morg-san and Ugo-kun didn't hit anything!" Aladdin said with a smile. "Now, ever since we became companions, Ugo-kun isn't nervous around Morg-san anymore!"

"Is that so…?" said Morgiana. "Um, by the way… about the conversation last night…?"

"Ah. About 'Wonder Man Alibaba'?" Aladdin said, remembering how the maid had told them that 'Alibaba' was famous as the leader of a band of thieves that was currently causing problems in Balbadd. "Thieves, huh… But I don't think Alibaba would do something like that. I'm sure it's a different person!"

"I agree…" said Morgiana.

"Yeah, he may be a penny-pinching money-grubber, but he's no thief." Faith agreed.

"Wow…" Hope said, sweat-dropping at her sisters description.

"But how will we find the real Alibaba?" Aladdin asked. "This is such a huge country…"

"We could try putting up some 'lost' posters?" Faith suggested.

"I think that would probably work a lot better if we at least had a picture of him…" Hope said, sweat-dropping. And it wasn't like they could just print a hundred flyers out in one go, like back home. "I wonder how much it would cost to have an add put in a newspaper…"

"Do they even have newspapers here?" Faith asked dubiously. Most of the places they'd been to so far didn't. A lot of stuff was still being written and copied by hand rather than typed and printed.

"Good point." Hope said with a sigh, resting her head on her hand. Someone really needed to invent the printing press here…

"You're stumped too, Morg-san?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes…" Morgiana answered regretfully with a nod.

"Man, it's all that band of thieves' fault that boats to the Dark Continent have stopped!" Faith complained, annoyed on her behalf. That morning, while Aladdin was still sleeping, the girls had gone around trying to find a boat for Morgiana, but there weren't any takers.

"…" Morgiana said, looking down. "What should we do…?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure Hope'll figure something out!" Faith said, trying to cheer her up.

'So it's all up to me…?' Hope thought as she sweat-dropped again, a little chagrined. "Some help would be nice, you know."

"Yeah… Since we promised the ojii-san from yesterday to eat together, let's ask him then." Aladdin suggested.

"Oh, that's a good idea." Hope said. "He seemed to know a lot about this country… Well, more than us, at any rate. What was the name of that group of thieves again?"

"The 'Fog Troupe'?" Sinbad said dubiously as he sat inside the royal palace. "What's that?" He asked the Saluja brothers.

"The cause of Balbadd's domestic problems." King Ahbmad Saluja answered. "They're a terrorist group that opposes the country itself… Nonetheless, those guys were originally but a group of about forty thieves from the slums… That is… about two years ago… they broke into the palace's treasury and pillaged it. With that as war funds, they also acquired power. Since then the political situation has been unstable, and those guys have been steadily gaining support. Now, it is said, their ranks have swollen and become a large family with a size of several hundred men! Furthermore, they have acquired knowledge of a strange black magic… They have become such a powerful anti-government force that the military can't control them anymore! They mainly attack noblemen's mansions and government trading ships… And, to make matters worse, they distribute the money and goods that they snatched away and hand them out to the people… causing people to view them as heroes!" he explained with a shake of his head. "The people are idiots." He huffed, picking his nose. "All their plundering and the theft of the national treasury does is cause us to raise taxes." Sinbad furrowed his brow slightly as he stared at him, and considered everything he had seen and heard since entering this country.

"You guys… have a bad reputation, you know." He said rather bluntly.

"Sh-Shut up!" Ahbmad snapped defensively, flinching in shock. "This is a big problem! Lately, a troublesome guy has joined their group! Honestly, what 'wonder man'!" he fumed with, dripping with sweat as a vein throbbed on his forehead. "If not for that guy, we would have…!" Ahbmad was abruptly cut off when his brother and deputy king suddenly clapped his hands over his mouth.

"B-Brother, that topic is…" Sahbmad whispered urgently, sweating nervously.

"!" Ahbmad said, covering his own mouth when he realized what he had almost done while his brother held a finger to his lips and quietly shushed him.

"?" Sinbad said, wondering what they were up to. "What?"

"Nothing!" Ahbmad responded quickly. "Anyways! It's that Fog Troupe's fault that trade can't be resumed! Why don't you go out… and do something about it yourself, Sinbad-ojii-san!" he said defiantly, making a face as he stuck his tongue out at the older man.

"…" Sahbmad said nervously, fretting in the background over his brother's rudeness.

"…" Sinbad narrowed his eyes slightly. These brats had a lot of guts talking to him like that when the two of them combined weren't even half the king their father was. "I see… So it's fine if I do something, right?" he said, standing up.

"_!_?" the two brothers flinched when he pulled out a knife and stabbed it into the table in front of him.

"Then I will go exterminate this 'Fog Troupe'." Sinbad stated seriously. "By myself, without any help from the army!"

"…_!_?" the brothers gasped in astonishment, paling in shock. "I-Impossible! Even is you're Sinbad-ojii-san!" they exclaimed.

"Wh-What should we do? Aniue…?" Sahbmad asked his older brother nervously once Sinbad and his retainers had left.

"… It's fine…" Ahbmad said with a frown. "At any rate, no matter what Sinbad does, trade won't be reopened with Sindria… The Fog Troupe won't just fall down without a fight, so it'll be a good bargain for us…"

Upon returning to the hotel, Sinbad immediately sought out Aladdin's little group and took them out to lunch in the hotel's restaurant.

"Uwaaa!" Aladdin exclaimed excitedly when the special dish he had ordered for the four of them to try arrived. Morgiana's pigtail shot up in excitement.

"It's so beautiful~!" Hope said as she and her sister eyed the first fresh seafood they had seen in half a year with sparkling eyes, trying not to drool to much. It looked like it had been prepared by an extremely skilled chef, and it smelled amazing!

"Don't be shy, help yourselves!" Sinbad told them with a smile and a laugh, extremely gratified to see such excellent reactions. "This is Balbadd's famous herb and butter-baked Eumera sea bream! The Eumera sea bream is only found in Balbadd's coastal waters. Its secret is that, even thought it's a sea bream, it has soft bones and is an absolute delicacy when eaten with vanilla! When I first traveled here, it was the most delicious cooking I had ever come across… That's adventure's charm!" He watched as the twins tried dipping some in the vanilla sauce and sighed blissfully with matching dreamy expression on their faces as it melted in their mouths. Sinbad's smile brightened. They had a really deep appreciation for good food. Morgiana and Aladdin were practically inhaling theirs. "By the way, I haven't introduced my subordinates yet, huh? This is Ja'far, and this is Masrur." He said, pointing to each of them in turn.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Hope, this is my sister Faith, this is Aladdin, and that's Morgiana." Hope greeted them with a polite smile. "Why don't you have a seat, too?" she suggested, since they had been standing the entire time.

"Yeah, take a load off!" said Faith.

"We're fine." Masrur answered.

"Thank you for your consideration." Ja'far said with a smile.

"Morgiana!" Sinbad said, getting her attention. "Masrur is a Fanalis."

"!" Morgiana gasped in surprise, perking up immediately.

"Did that surprise you?" Sinbad asked, smiling at her cute reaction. "Actually, yesterday he also noticed. Your eyes are exactly alike."

'Oh, now that he mentions it… They both have similar shades of red hair, too…' the twins thought.

"… Hello." Masrur greeted his fellow Fanalis with a small nod of his head.

"… Hello…" Morgiana said, bowing hers in return. This was her first time meeting another Fanalis ever since she had been taken from her homeland.

"Hello!" Aladdin said as he jumped up and ran over to the tall, muscular redhead to shake his hand, pulling Morgiana along. Faith got up to follow them, and Hope went with to keep an eye on her. "You're from the Dark Continent, just like Morg-san, right?"

"Yeah." Masrur answered.

"You're really huge, aren't you?" Aladdin said.

"I like me a man with muscles~" Faith said with a grin.

"Are you gonna get that big and muscular too, Morg-san?"

"Wh-Who knows?" Morgiana said a bit shyly.

"Girl's tend to mature a little differently than guys, Aladdin…" Hope said with a wry smile.

"Yeah, I guess that's true… Ah, but you're still not as big as Ugo-kun!" Aladdin told Masrur. "Oh, right, let me introduce you… to my friend!" he said, digging around for his flute.

"… So, what will you do?" Ja'far asked Sinbad, while their guests played with Masrur, pouring himself some tea as she sat down across from him. "You don't have a single piece of 'equipment' right now… so you can't accomplish that absurd promise from this morning. What will you do?"

"… I'll figure it out somehow?" Sinbad said with a shrug.

"Oi!" Ja'far said with a vein popping on his forehead.

"But, even if we're counting on a minimum level of damage from this internal issue, a couple of problems still remain." Sinbad said seriously. "I still owe Balbadd a debt…"

"…" Ja'far knew how important the late king had been to him.

"Sindria was founded on barren soil before left or right was understood. Balbadd's late king taught me a lot about trade. I'm truly indebted to him." Sinbad said solemnly. "It is a shame that person died. But I won't let my benefactor's country… I won't let Balbadd fall into civil war…" he finished determinedly with a smile just as Aladdin found his flute and blew into it, causing two giant blue arms to pop up behind him. Ja'far nearly choked on his tea in shock as it shot from his mouth across the table.

"_!_?" Sinbad said, quickly dodging. He turned to see what Ja'far was gaping at. "UWHOAH_!_! Amazing—_!_?" he cried out in astonishment when he saw the Djinn.

Since the sudden appearance of a blue giant had startled and upset many of the other customers, they had been very cautiously and politely asked to take it outside by the waiting staff.

"Aladdin… You're also a magi…_!_?" Sinbad asked, staring at the boy and his Djinn in astonishment.

"'Also'? Do you know another magi?" Aladdin asked curiously.

"Yes… I know another magi." Sinbad answered, patting Ugo on the arm to check how solid he was. "Though our relationship isn't the best…"

"…?" Aladdin and the twins sweat-dropped, wondering what he meant by that.

"… You're not an ordinary merchant, are you?" Faith asked dubiously.

"Just who are you, ojii-san?" Aladdin asked.

"I see… since you are a magi, I will reveal myself. I've hidden it until now, so please don't think badly of me. I am… Sinbad." Sinbad proudly introduced himself again, as if adding another syllable to his name should have explained everything. For a moment Aladdin's eyes widened in surprise, and Sinbad thought he had gotten through to him, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

"…?" Aladdin said, tilting his head slightly to the side with a look on his face that had 'does not compute' written all over it. He had no idea what Sinbad was talking about.

"Okay, and…?" Faith said, raising an eyebrow. There had to be more to it than that, right?

"'Sinbad'… huh?" Hope said thoughtfully. The first thing that came to mind was 'Sinbad the Sailor' from the _Arabian Nights_ tales from their world, but that couldn't be it…

"What_!_?" Sinbad said, flinching in shock at their ignorance. Ja'far sweat-dropped. "Y-You don't know?" Sinbad asked them. _Really?_

"I think I've heard it somewhere before… Just where? I've forgotten..." Aladdin said, scratching his cheek a bit sheepishly.

"Yeah, I _vaguely_ remember hearing it somewhere before…" Faith said, squinting, as she made an effort to wrack her brain for the answer.

"Go on! Go on! Please remember!" Sinbad urged them. "The legendary 'Sinbad'… Who has repeatedly sailed across the world's seven seas! The adventurous man! Who captured many dungeons around the world and even established a country, capturing a total of seven dungeons! The first dungeon, Baal! The sixth dungeon, Valefor! The sixteenth dungeon, Zepar! The thirty-Fourth dungeon, Furfur! The forty-first dungeon, Focalor! The forty-second dungeon, Vepar! The forty-ninth dungeon, Crocell! The master of seven Djinn, the high king of the seven seas. That is 'Sinbad'." He declared boldly.

"…" The twins said, staring at him in surprise. Talk about 'wow'! It would have been even more impressive if he hadn't seemed so desperate for them to recognize him.

"A-Amazing!" Aladdin exclaimed. "But, I don't really understand!" he said, sweat-dropping.

"What_!_? You don't understand_!_? Even though you're a magi?" Sinbad asked, flinching in shock.

"Our Aladdin's a little special…" Hope said with a wry smile.

"Yeah. There are still many things I don't understand." Aladdin said. "Things about Djinn masters and dungeon capturers I've only recently heard about. Ahh… But if it's 'Sinbad's Adventure Books', then I know those!" he said, suddenly remembering where he had heard the name before. It had been from Alibaba. "My friend read them to me!"

"Oh, yeah! That was a pretty interesting story!" Faith said when it clicked.

"I see! Well thank you!" Sinbad said, rubbing the back of his neck. That was something at least. "Those books were written by me!"

"Um, since you've conquered so many dungeons… you must know a lot a bout them, right? Can you explain how they work for us?" Hope asked. "We're very curious about that."

"Well, to explain dungeons… would take a while, so I'll teach you more about them next time." Sinbad promised. The twins and Aladdin exchanged a glance.

"Okay…" Aladdin said. "But, before that, I want you to teach me one thing.

"And what is that, Aladdin?" Sinbad asked.

"I wonder, what are magi? First, I want to know about myself." Aladdin replied.

"Mm. The first thing you need to know about magi is this: they can easily materialize a Djinn and continue to do so with a steady output of magoi. With the exception of magi, capturers' and other people's magoi would disappear in an instant.

"No, it also disappears for me when I show them too." Aladdin said dismissively with a shake of head and wave of his hand. "If I use my flute a lot, I get hungry and sleepy."

"Is that so? I see, so when magi use magoi, their stamina decreases? Interesting." Sinbad said, intrigued. "Still, compared to us normal people… you have an infinite supply of magoi."

"What is magoi?" Hope asked curiously.

"Magoi is… the energy rukh creates. Do you know about rukh? Sky, sea, earth, it exists in everything. Of course, it also dwells within living things. Using only the rukh inside of them, ordinary humans can produce a certain amount of 'energy' that can be used." Sinbad explained.

"And this 'energy' is magoi?" Hope asked.

"Yes. However, a magi also has unlimited use of the energy created by other beings… So, basically in addition to the magoi your inner rukh produces, you can produce an indefinite amount of magoi using outside rukh!" he told Aladdin. "They are loved by the rukh. Man… magi are seriously amazing!" looking at all the rukh around Aladdin, he didn't see how he could have thought the boy was anything less now. Aladdin looked like a small sun with so many rukh gathered around him, and the twins looked like two small stars beside him. "That's right…" Sinbad said, getting an idea. "Can I ask a favor of the amazing Aladdin?"

"What is it?" Aladdin asked.

"To tell you the truth, there is a certain battle going on right now, but… because of certain circumstances… Right now I do not have any metal vessels!" Sinbad confessed frankly, looking far too proud about it for Ja'far's taste.

"All seven of them were stolen from him." He chimed in bluntly, causing the twins to sweat-drop.

"Would you be willing to lend us your power, so we can capture the Fog Troupe?" Sinbad asked.


	37. Chapter 37

**Previously:**

_"That's right…" Sinbad said, getting an idea. "Can I ask a favor of the amazing Aladdin?"_

_"What is it?" Aladdin asked._

_"To tell you the truth, there is a certain battle going on right now, but… because of certain circumstances… Right now I do not have any metal vessels!" Sinbad confessed frankly, looking far too proud about it for Ja'far's taste._

_"All seven of them were stolen from him." He chimed in bluntly, causing the twins to sweat-drop._

_"Would you be willing to lend us your power, so we can capture the Fog Troupe?" Sinbad asked._

* * *

**Chapter 37: Question**

* * *

"Capture the Fog Troupe_!_?" Aladdin asked, surprised.

"Yes." Said Sinbad. "Join forces with us so that the Fog Troupe, which is causing a disturbance in this country, can be brought to justice."

"…!" Aladdin, Faith, and Morgiana said, taken aback when they saw how serious he was, while Hope furrowed her brow slightly.

"Sin, wait a second!" Ja'far said anxiously, grabbing his shoulder. "What nonsense are you saying_!_? He's still a young child, you know! How could you ask such a young child to undergo such dangers?" he asked sternly, placing himself protectively in front of Aladdin and the girls.

"… But age doesn't matter, does it? The most important point is whether they have the capability of facing the thieves or not." Sinbad replied calmly. "Aladdin is a magi. Just as you see here, he wields power beyond imagination." He said, gesturing to Ugo. "Although he is still a child, his capability far surpasses that of a fully grown adult. I was fourteen when I captured my first dungeon. It was said that thousands had died in there. Since then, my experiences during those repeated voyages, adventures, and life-threatening battles have become my weapons in those years where survival wasn't guaranteed. What is needed is power. To stay alive when challenging unknown worlds, you need an ability that surpasses everyone else's!" Sinbad said determinedly, clenching his fist. "He has that power. You should be able to see it too, right?"

"…" Ja'far still looked reluctant, but he didn't say another word against recruiting Aladdin.

"Ojii-san said to get rid of the thieves… What should we do?" Aladdin asked the girls.

"I say 'yes'!" Faith replied immediately, looking super pumped about the idea of taking out another band of thieves.

"I say 'let's give this a little more thought,' shall we?" Hope deadpanned, sweat-dropping. "What about you, Morg-chan?"

"…" Morgiana looked down, deep in thought. "… Let's join them." She said after thinking it over for a while. "The ship to the Dark Continent was halted because of the Fog Troupe. Once the Fog troupe is taken down, the harbor will probably resume its activities."

"Mm. I think so, too." Hope agreed.

"_!_?" Faith and Aladdin said, looking surprise.

"Then, we're gonna do it?" Faith asked excitedly. Hope nodded.

"Because, according to our previous conversation, it seems like 'Sin' here is familiar with Balbadd's king. We're looking for someone, so could you ask the king to help us. If we manage to solve this problem, then perhaps we can also borrow the country's resources to aid us in our search?" she suggested, looking pointedly at Sinbad.

"Yes." Morgiana agreed. "I was thinking something along those lines as well…"

"Also, any information you can give us on dungeons and Djinns would be greatly appreciated." Hope added with a brilliant shit-eating grin.

"Oh~" Sinbad said, impressed by the girls' shrewdness. "Such clever girls. Morgiana is completely different from you, who resolves everything through brute force!" he said with a big grin, laughing as he slapped Masrur on the back.

"…" Masrur said, managing to look bored and fed up at the same time without twitching a muscle.

"Of course." Sinbad said, turning back to face the girls and Aladdin. "I will ask the king of Balbadd to send people to search the entire nation. Furthermore, I'll arrange a boat to the Dark Continent. How does that sound?" he asked with a smile.

"_!_!" they said, exchanging some very excited nods.

"Yeah_!_!" Aladdin agreed enthusiastically, grabbing Sinbad's outstretched hands. "We'll help with 'taking care of those thieves'_!_!"

"Yes_!_!" Faith cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"Then we have an agreement!" Sinbad said with a grin, glad the magi had decided to accept. "Let's draw up a strategy, Aladdin!"

"Yeah_!_!" Aladdin said excitedly.

"As for the girls…" said Sinbad. "Why don't you just stay at the hotel and wait for us?" Their smiles fell almost immediately.

"…_!_?" the twins said, furrowing their brows in confusion and annoyance.

"Um… I can fight too…" Morgiana said, also confused about his sudden shift in attitude towards them.

"No, even if you're a Fanalis, I can't let a girl fight." Sinbad said with a smile, as if he were doing them a favor.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard…" Faith muttered with a severe frown, fighting the urge to punch him.

"But we want to help too." Hope protested as he began to shepherd them away.

"Just leave this matter to us men; you girls just wait at the hotel! All right!" Sinbad said with that idiotic smile still plastered on his face.

"…" The girls said as angry veins popped on their foreheads.

_CRRASH!_!

"_!_?" Sinbad flinched in shock when Morgiana suddenly applied the brakes, slamming her foot so hard against the ground, that she shattered the stone beneath it; and then, the next thing he knew, there was a sharp pain in his legs and his chest as he was knocked flat on his back. The moment Morgiana acted, the twins had spun around to face Sinbad; and Faith delivered a low roundhouse kick to sweep his feet out from under him, while Hope delivered a high roundhouse kick to his chest with just enough force to prove their point without seriously injuring him.

"We want to fight too!" Morgiana said with an angry pout as the girls loomed over him. "We're already prepared, so no matter how big that band of thieves is, We can get rid of them just the same."

"Yeah, so no trying to leave us out, 'kay?" the twins said with matching shit-eating grins, which did very little to conceal their ire with the threatening aura they were giving off, and the vein marks throbbing on their foreheads.

"Yes, Ma'ams." Sinbad quipped immediately as a bead of cold sweat rolled down the side of his face, still pale with shock from their little show of strength. These girls could be pretty scary…

"Morg, Hope, and Faith are all very strong!" Aladdin said brightly. "Just the other day, the three of them took care of the band of thieves that was occupying the rock quarry. When I was captured, it was them who rescued me!"

"Wha—_!_?" Sinbad exclaimed, flinching in shock again. "They defeated the band of thieves that even captured a magi? You girls sure are strong…" To think these twins could keep up with a Fanalis… They had looked so normal.

"Plus, my sister has a Metal Vessel!" Faith added.

"Not that I know how to use it, but…" Hope said.

"That's more than we can say for you right now." Faith finished bluntly.

"What? You're also a dungeon capturer_!_?" Sinbad asked, surprised.

"Technically, everyone in our group has survived clearing a dungeon. So, I take it you have no objections to us joining you?" Hope asked, crossing her arms, while Faith smirked, and Morgiana watched him like a hawk.

"Absolutely none!" said Sinbad with a serious gleam in his eyes as a bead of nervous sweat slid down the side of his face. He had definitely learned his lesson. These kids were great!

"Since everyone is assembled, let's start the meeting… I'll leave it to you, Ja'far!" Sinbad said once Ugo returned to his flute, and they had moved to a more private room.

"Thank you…" Ja'far said, sweat-dropping. "Then, I'll now explain what the information I have gathered from the residents and the military tells us about when and where those robbers tend to attack. Firstly, they only act on foggy nights. Balbadd often suffers from fog. When the sea winds blows across the hills, fog usually forms. The thieves take advantage of this fog to hide their movements. Secondly, their aim is the country's treasury and the rich. They act in groups of at least ten, but no more than a hundred people. Having stolen the food, weapons, and goods, they disperse. Thirdly, a point which many people have noticed… they always manage to hit areas that are weakly guarded. As you can understand from this, the chances of an inside information leak are very high." Sinbad frowned. "But, the most troublesome part of the problem is, however, that a large majority of the residents support them. So, once they disperse into town, it becomes impossible to track them down."

"Even though they are thieves, the residents support them?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes, this is because they distribute the stolen items among the poor, so they are known as 'virtuous thieves'. This has won them the heart of the people." Ja'far explained. "And the one who is the most popular of them all… is the leader known as 'Wonder Man Alibaba'." A bead of sweat slid down the side of Aladdin's face as he considered everything he had just heard. He was starting to get a bad feeling…

'No, Alibaba-kun could never be the leader of these thieves.' Aladdin told himself.

"Um… as the citizens support them… is it really all right to capture them?" Morgiana asked.

"…" the twins said, looking like they were thinking along the same lines.

"… I agree with your reservations." Sinbad said. "The Fog Troupe is well-known as virtuous thieves. This means that they are thieves who act against perceived injustices. Furthermore, the fact that they distribute the stolen items to the poor has earned them the support from the people. But, this got me thinking… What if they performed those righteous actions just to gain popular support… or for other ulterior motives."

"I see… That's also a possibility…" Hope said thoughtfully. "Even though they seem to be doing this for the people, the truth is they're just causing more problems, like how they've disrupted the shipping traffic… If that goes on for too long, it could make the economy even worse, and that'll hurt everyone."

"You think so, too?" Faith asked.

"Yeah." hope said with a nod. "There's precedent for something like that happening in our homeland, after all."

"What! When?"

"Jesse James, remember?" Hope said, as if it should have been obvious. "Back in the day he was considered a folk hero because people also thought of him as a 'virtuous thief' because he gave away some of his loot, but the truth is he kept the majority of it for himself. Having the support of the people made it easier to evade the lawmen that were after him. While Jesse was many things, including being a sometimes kind man, a dapper dresser, and a prankish charmer, he was also a cold-blooded murderer, robber, horse thief, and terrorist. He and his gang were very dangerous men…"

"Where did you hear that from?" Faith asked dubiously.

"… From our history teacher." Hope reminded her. "You don't remember?"

"Ah, Dinkleberg…" Faith said grudgingly, narrowing her eyes. And, yes, that really was the man's name.

"Incidentally, where is your homeland?" Sinbad asked curiously. They were wearing the clothing of one the Northern tribes, but he had never heard of an outlaw by that strange name before.

"Oh, uh… Don't worry about that! I doubt you'll have heard of it." Hope said with bright smile to hide her nervousness for having slipped up. Morgiana and Aladdin were fine, but she didn't want any more people than necessary to know about their incredible origins.

"Yeah, it's not like you'll be able to find it on any map." Faith added, earning herself a swift elbow in the side from her sister.

"Anyway, you were saying?" Hope asked, prompting Sinbad to continue what he was saying before in an attempt to shift the subject away from them.

"… Well," Sinbad said, getting back to business despite being more curious than ever, "because of who and what I am, I'll think about all sides before arriving at a conclusion I feel is correct. Think about it before deciding for yourself. I hope you can give it the needed consideration, so you can differentiate between what is right and wrong… and that you can believe in whatever answer you have attained for yourself." He said, standing up. "This is how I've paved my way… How about you?" he asked Aladdin and the girls.

"I'll think about it." Aladdin said seriously after a moment.

"Yeah, us too." The twins agreed.

"… Me too." Said Morgiana.

"All right." Sinbad said with a smile.


	38. Chapter 38

**Previously:**

_"… Well," Sinbad said, getting back to business despite being more curious than ever, "because of who and what I am, I'll think about all sides before arriving at a conclusion I feel is correct. Think about it before deciding for yourself. I hope you can give it the needed consideration, so you can differentiate between what is right and wrong… and that you can believe in whatever answer you have attained for yourself." He said, standing up. "This is how I've paved my way… How about you?" he asked Aladdin and the girls._

_"I'll think about it." Aladdin said seriously after a moment._

_"Yeah, us too." The twins agreed._

_"… Me too." Said Morgiana._

_"All right." Sinbad said with a smile._

* * *

**Chapter 38: Answer**

* * *

"So, while we're with y'all, Aladdin and Morgiana will guard the other area with Ja'far-san?" Hope asked later that evening as their group stood in front of the mansion that she and Faith were supposed to be guarding with Sinbad and Masrur.

"Yes. I'm glad you all decided to come." Sinbad replied with a smile.

"But wouldn't it be better if you guys had Aladdin instead, since there's already supposed to be some military guys over there?" Faith asked.

"But didn't you say your sister has a Metal Vessel?" Sinbad pointed out.

"Yeah, but I also said I didn't know how to use it." Hope reminded him. "I got the impression it could be used for fighting somehow, but…"

"How long have you had it?" he asked.

"Hmm… almost half a year, now." she answered.

"Eh? And you've never managed to activate it all that time_!_?" he asked, surprised. "Surely you must have been in some kind of situation where you needed a little extra help, and…"

"Nope, never." The twins answered together with matching straight faces.

"There hasn't been a single problem that we couldn't solve with a little extra hard work." Hope said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, we're invincible when we're together!" Faith said with a grin.

"I see… Twins are amazing." Sinbad said with a mollified smile, sweat-dropping. "Achoo!" he sneezed, shivering, as the chill, foggy air seeped through his clothes and skin. "So cold… Southeastern countries are so cold on foggy nights…" He should have put on some long sleeves and a scarf like the girls before they left.

"That's true." Masrur said calmly as he moved away from his master, completely unfazed.

"Idiot, stop moving a round!" Sinbad whisper-yelled, crouching behind him.

"Please don't use me as shield against the wind." Masrur whisper-yelled back as he fought to get away while Sinbad fought to keep him close so he could use him for cove from the cold.

'And these are the 'adults'...' Hope thought with an amused smile, sweat dropping at their shenanigans.

"!" the two men said, surprised when Faith suddenly squeezed in between them and looped one of her arms through each of theirs with a very smug and happy grin on her face.

"Fufu~ It's a 'hottie sandwich'!" Faith said, looking very pleased with herself. The two men sweat-dropped.

"Wow, way to take advantage, Faith…" Hope said with a wry smile as some shutters slammed open behind her on the second story.

"Hey, you down there!" the fat nobleman inside shouted angrily with a vein throbbing on his forehead, a chicken leg in his hand, and girl on each arm. "Guard the area properly! For goodness' sake… just because the army doesn't have enough manpower, they only sent two guards over, making me so worried that I lost my appetite!"

'There's _four_ of us here, you know…!' the twins thought, chagrined. Veins throbbed on their foreheads as Hope sweat-dropped, while Faith flipped the rude fat-ass off, when he turned away from the window while gnawing on the chicken leg.

"He's still eating nonstop, though." Said Masrur.

"Eating food in a warm room… such a privileged man." Sinbad remarked dryly, rubbing his arms in an attempt to warm them.

'Says the _king_…' Hope thought wryly as she sweat-dropped again.

"Bastard." Faith muttered grudgingly, eyeing the food and women with envy.

"Hm?" Sinbad said, looking over his shoulder when he felt something approaching. Masrur and the twins also turned to look when they heard the dim echo of approaching footsteps, and saw that a shadowy figure was drawing towards them through the fog. They could see it was a woman carrying a small bundle in her arms as she came closer, swaying unsteadily on her feet. She looked as if she might collapse at any moment. "Hey, are you all right?" Sinbad asked as he reached out to steady her when she stumbled, concerned.

"…" The woman kept her head down, remaining silent.

"You don't look so good," Hope said kindly, "maybe you should—!" she and Sinbad quickly dodged when the woman suddenly took a swipe at them with a knife. Hope swiftly disarmed their assailant as she lunged past them, taking away her knife.

"What?" Sinbad said as he furrowed his brow.

"The hell_!_! What's…" Faith shouted incredulously at the woman as the sound of more footsteps was heard scurrying their way. They couldn't see these new arrivals on the scene too clearly through the fog, but they could make out enough shadowy figures to know that they had been surrounded.

"So Fog Troupe… finally revealed itself?" Sinbad said coolly as the four of them stood back to back, quickly taking up a defensive position. The twins furrowed their brows. "Masrur, the fog blocking our vision is making it hard to understand the situation!"

"Understood." Masrur answered calmly, grabbing a nearby tree.

"!" The twins gasped in astonishment when the Fanalis wrapped his arms around its trunk and uprooted the tree from the ground almost as easily as if he were plucking simply plucking a weeding. They made sure to stick close to Sinbad and stay out of Masrur's way as he swung the tree through the air to cut a hole through the dense fog.

_SWISH._

"_!_!" the people surrounding them gasped in alarm as they flinched and shielded their eyes from the sudden and sharp gust of wind.

"_!_?" Sinbad and the twins said, taken aback. With the fog no longer obscuring their vision, they could now see that everyone surrounding them looked extremely worn and ragged. They were all terribly emaciated and appeared to be having trouble just standing from how labored their breathing sounded and the way their legs were trembling beneath them. But there was no mistaking the dark and desperate look in their eyes, they all were prepared to kill. They had armed themselves with whatever weapons they could find. Hope frowned. Something wasn't right.

'… The Fog Troupe? No… Women, children… they're just ordinary civilians. Why have they come here, giving such murderous looks?' Sinbad wondered with a frown as he assessed the situation.

"Y-You are… Are you with this mansion?" The woman who had just tried to attack them asked shakily. "If you try to stop us… we'll kill you! We are just here to steal food! My daughter will die of hunger if she doesn't eat today! This child is the third. I don't want to lose any more children because of the high taxes of this country!" she cried determinedly as the eyes of Sinbad and the twins widened in horror when they realized they could see a dangerously thin and limp little arm hanging from the bundle that she was clutching protectively to her chest. Hope quietly reached out and placed her hand over one of Faith's clenched fists when she felt her sister grit her teeth and begin to tremble beside her. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Sinbad's face as he stared at the woman in shock, and he recalled Ahbmad's words to him from before.

_When a country encounters a problem, just raise the taxes._

"Hmph… Aren't these residents of the slums_!_?" the nobleman said with contempt as he watched from the safety of his warm home. "Shoo! You all stink! I'll give you this, so just go somewhere else!" he barked with disdain, throwing his half-eaten chicken leg down on the ground.

"!" The residents immediately whipped their heads around when he did so, and the woman with the baby dropped to her knees, scrambling desperately to pick it up before someone else tried to claim it. She flinched when someone grabbed her wrist to stop her, and she looked up at Sinbad, who was now kneeling beside her, in surprise.

"There is no need for this." He told her calmly. "Go into that mansion and take as much as you like. Just promise to spare the lives of the people there." He finished seriously. For a moment, the woman and her comrades stared at him, stunned. But they quickly nodded their heads in agreement and turned to leave before he changed his mind.

"Wait!" Hope said firmly, making them pause. "Be careful. If you eat too much too fast, you'll only make yourselves sick. Be sure to chew slowly. Trust me, soft foods like watery soup, tea, fruit juice, and noodles and bread dipped in water and mashed up are probably your safest bet if you want to be able to keep it down." She advised them as she returned the woman's knife, though she hoped that she wouldn't have a need to use it. Once again, the residents of the slums stared at the strange guards in astonishment before nodding in understanding as they rushed off to feed themselves.

_"Hey! Stop iiit!"_ The nobleman cried, paling in shock and breaking out in a nervous sweat as the residents ran straight past the guards and began raiding his home for food. "Damn it—that guard—_!_! Guard properlyyyy!"

"Is that all right?" Masrur asked his king.

"We only promised to capture the Fog Troupe." Sinbad replied calmly with a frown, rubbing his arms as he shivered again, looking up at the moon. "… This country… may already be a lost cause…"

"It's all right, Faith." Hope said, causing them to look back at the twins. "It's all right." Hope repeatedly gently to her sister, rubbing soothing circles on Faith's back to calm her as she rested her head in the crook of her sister neck. "We're all right. This isn't Katrina. Those people weren't the looters from ten years ago… You did a good job holding back."

"…" Masrur said as he and Sinbad watched them, wondering what was going on.

"… Is she all right?" Sinbad asked, referring to Faith.

"… She'll be fine in couple more minutes." Hope replied solemnly. "It's just her PTSD acting up." It didn't happen often, but given the circumstances, she wasn't surprised.

"PTSD?" he asked, furrowing his brow slightly.

"'Post-traumatic stress disorder'. It's a mental health condition that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal—either by experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Ours was brought on when a really bad storm hit our hometown. It decimated the city, and during the panic and desperation that followed… While were trapped in our because of the flood waters, our home was raided by looters." Hope explained, closing her eyes, as Faith tightened her grip on her. They both had it, but their triggers were different.

"They almost killed Hope…" Faith muttered darkly, holding tightly to her sister as if she was afraid she might disappear. When one of the looters made the mistake of striking Hope, Faith had snapped upon seeing her sister's blood and had nearly brought the house down on them with all the poltergeists caused by her psychic powers. Fortunately, the looters had been so spooked by the slamming doors, breaking glass, and their leader being thrown back by an invisible force, that they had dropped everything and ran off with their tails between their legs.

"It wasn't that bad… The wound just looked worse than it actually was, remember? I'm still here, aren't I?" Hope said soothingly. Because blood was thinner in the face and head, it ran faster as a result, so it only looked like she had lost a lot. "You said it yourself, we're invincible when we're together now!"

"Yeah…" Faith said, taking a deep breath as she inhaled her sister's scent, finally calming down. It had really scared her when she saw Hope try to stop another looter with a knife, just like she had all those years ago… but they weren't just a couple of helpless children anymore. They knew how to fight back now.

"…" Sinbad frowned slightly as he watched them. The two girls had obviously been through a lot, and for that they had his sympathy, but… there was something strange about them. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were both hiding something very big.


	39. Chapter 39

**Previously:**

_"They almost killed Hope…" Faith muttered darkly, holding tightly to her sister as if she was afraid she might disappear. When one of the looters made the mistake of striking Hope, Faith had snapped upon seeing her sister's blood and had nearly brought the house down on them with all the poltergeists caused by her psychic powers. Fortunately, the looters had been so spooked by the slamming doors, breaking glass, and their leader being thrown back by an invisible force, that they had dropped everything and ran off with their tails between their legs._

_"It wasn't that bad… The wound just looked worse than it actually was, remember? I'm still here, aren't I?" Hope said soothingly. Because blood was thinner in the face and head, it ran faster as a result, so it only looked like she had lost a lot. "You said it yourself, we're invincible when we're together now!"_

_"Yeah…" Faith said, taking a deep breath as she inhaled her sister's scent, finally calming down. It had really scared her when she saw Hope try to stop another looter with a knife, just like she had all those years ago… but they weren't just a couple of helpless children anymore. They knew how to fight back now._

_"…" Sinbad frowned slightly as he watched them. The two girls had obviously been through a lot, and for that they had his sympathy, but… there was something strange about them. He couldn't shake the feeling that they were both hiding something very big._

* * *

**Chapter 39: The Fog Dissipates**

* * *

"How unexpected…" Sinbad remarked as they surveyed the damage from the other groups' fight against the Fog Troupe as dawn crept over Balbadd. Ja'far had just finished relaying his account of the event to him. "That there would be a dungeon capturer in the Fog Troupe…"

"Yes. I've also confirmed that their side has several magical items, and among them is a Metal Vessel." Ja'far replied. "Fortunately, there were no deaths… It's said that 'Wonder Man Alibaba' always uses this tactic to get away. The military is also at its wit's end."

"What's more unexpected, though…" Sinbad continued seriously. "Is that he is the friend Aladdin and the twins were looking for."

"Yes, I can't imagine a magi's friend being reduced to a thief…" Ja'far agreed as they glanced over at Aladdin, who was staring dejectedly off into space while the twins tried to comfort him. Alibaba's alliance with the thieves and his subsequent rejection of their promise appeared to have been a huge shock.

"That jerk…" Faith grumbled darkly, clenching her fist in anger, while Morgiana began to sniff around. How dare Alibaba do that to their little Aladdin! "When I get my hands on him…_!_!"

"Calm down. The last thing we need is you flying off in a murderous rage. You'll feel better once you've had some rest and eaten." Hope told her. "You too, Aladdin… You look tired." She said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"…" Aladdin didn't say anything, but he let the twins steer him back to the hotel.

"In the end, though, what kind of person is 'Wonder Man Alibaba' anyway?" Sinbad asked.

"According to the residents… he became active in the Fog Troupe around half a year ago." Ja'far replied. "Every time the Fog Troupe distributes the stolen goods to the residents, they are bound to call out his name, thus he is being seen as a hero by them."

"Hmph… Calling a thief a hero… how absurd." Sinbad said jadedly. "But this also reflects how chaotic this country is…" he added, furrowing his brow when he heard a distant scream from the rundown streets behind them.

"No—someone save me—!" a young woman screamed as a two men held her down and ripped her clothes.

"Hihihi! No one will come 'cause all of the military has been ordered to guard the nobles." One of the men leered at her. "Uwaa_!_?" he cried out in alarm when L Nando suddenly grabbed him, picking him up by the head with one hand. "Ugrh!" he grunted in pain, coughing up bile when M Nando delievered a harsh kick to his stomach.

"Wh-Who are you guys_!_?" the other man demanded incredulously, panicking, as their older brother charged at him.

'S Nando body blow!' S Nando thought as he delivered a powerful blow to his opponent's abdomen, knocking him out cold. "Hmph, only daring to snatch a girl's chastity… If you want to steal something, then go for something that has more worth!" he lectured the would-be rapists with disdain. "Hey, woman, go now!" he said, shooing her away. The woman nodded gratefully and thanked them as she quickly gathered up her clothes and hurried away.

"We have actually been reduced to mugging for survival…" M said, sweat-dropping, as they began stripping their victims of any and all valuables they might have on them. They used to target whole caravans. "Why not just sell those accessories we stole from that napping guy, onii-san?"

"We can't sell these babies yet…" S said, patting their precious loot.

"Why is that?"

"The reason lies with this 'huang'." S replied, holding up the paper money he had just taken from one of their victims.

"Huang?" asked M.

"Yes, this is one of the currencies circulating within the Kou Empire. And they have been forcing the countries near Balbadd to use this, too. Using their strong military might to threaten them… And that is why we cannot trust this kind of money. The only money that can be trusted is made of gold or silver!" S explained as they searched for a good spot to bury Sinbad's equipment, hoping to make a short-term deposit to keep it safe. "Let me bury these treasures here first. We'll dig them up again when we're leaving this country, so we can sell them in another.

"Onii-san, then why don't we sell them for gold coins here?" M asked.

"That's because this country doesn't seem to have any gold currency left." S replied with a frown as they left the buried treasure behind. "As we can't escape due to the lockdown of the harbor, the only thing we can do for now is to continue to avoid being caught by the military…"

"Excuse me." Someone called out, getting their attention.

"Huh?" the brothers said, turning to face the man, who had long hair, wore slightly tattered robes, and veils to cover his face.

"Am I correct in believing that the three of you are the leaders of the rock quarry thieves?" the mysterious stranger asked. "I have a humble request. Can the three of you please follow me?"

"Judging from what happened last night… the ones who attacked you in your area weren't members of the Fog Troupe… but ordinary citizens, am I right?" said Ja'far when he, Sinbad, Masrur, and the twins had gathered again later that evening inside the hotel. While the others had been resting, Ja'far had taken the liberty of looking into Balbadd's affairs a little more thoroughly.

"That's right." Answered Sinbad. "They were citizens that could no longer endure the hardships of extreme poverty."

"Hmm, but to go to the extent of attacking and raiding the homes of the rich…?" Faith mused with a frown. "How'd it get this bad?"

"It seems that Balbadd is experiencing a major economic gap… judging by the amount of homeless and unemployed we saw while walking around the other day…" Hope said thoughtfully. "I'd say they've probably fallen into a big economic slump, similar to our country's Great Depression… but this country's government doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. Unlike our government, they don't seem to have made any noticeable attempt to fund work projects or to try to create new jobs or welfare programs. As a result, the people probably feel they have no way to earn enough money to support themselves through legitimate means, and so, like that mother who was tired of losing her children, they eventually snapped and decided to take drastic measures with their own hands in order to survive…" Some economists have said that FDR's methods actually prolonged the depression, but at least they had given people the illusion that something was being done.

"That's right. This country's economy is in utter chaos right now." Said Ja'far. "Not only that, other countries seem to be intervening with this country's affairs…"

"What do you mean?" Sinbad asked.

"Take a look at this." Ja'far said, pulling out a printed money note.

"Paper money?" Faith asked, surprised. It was her first time seeing it in this world, but she knew money when she saw it. The writing and the dragon printed on it looked kind of Asian.

"Ah, I see…" Hope said thoughtfully, furrowing her brow with a frown. There was something strangely familiar about that design...

"See what?" Faith asked, not seeing the problem. They used paper money all the time back home in the form of dollars.

"Well, the problem with paper money is that its value can be very subjective. It's actually a kind of banknote. The perception of banknotes as money has evolved over time. Originally, money was based on precious metals, like gold and silver. Banknotes were seen as essentially as a promissory note: a promise to pay someone in precious metal on presentation. It's a form of representative money. With the gradual removal of precious metals from the monetary system, banknotes evolved to represent credit money, or fiat money, if backed by the credit of a government." Hope explained. "And, judging by the economic upheaval this country is experiencing, that's probably a form of fiat money… It differs from commodity money and representative money. Commodity money is based on a good, often a precious metal such as gold or silver, which has uses other than as a medium of exchange, while representative money is a claim on the commodity rather than the actual good. In monetary economics, fiat money is an intrinsically useless object or record that is widely accepted as a means of payment. In some micro-founded models of money, fiat money is created internally in a community making feasible trades that would not otherwise be possible, either because producers and consumers may not anonymously write I.O.U.s, or because of physical constraints. While gold or silver backed representative money entails the legal requirement that the bank of issue redeem it in fixed weights of gold or silver, fiat money's value is unrelated to the value of any physical quantity. A coin is fiat currency to the extent that its face value, a value defined in law, is greater than its market value as metal. But with silver and gold coins, even if the value attributed to it by the government backing it were to decrease, it would still be worth its own weight. However, paper money, once it loses its value, is completely worthless. A fiat money currency generally loses value once the issuing government or central bank either loses the ability to or refuses to further guarantee its value. Also, huge increases in the supply of paper money can result in hyperinflations—episodes of extreme inflation rates. Hyperinflations are usually caused by large persistent government deficits financed primarily by money creation rather than taxation or borrowing. As such, hyperinflation is often associated with wars, their aftermath, sociopolitical upheavals, or other crises that make it difficult for the government to tax the population. A sharp decrease in real tax revenue coupled with a strong need to maintain the status quo, together with an inability or unwillingness to borrow, can lead a country into hyperinflation. But in the case of Balbadd, they seem to be suffering from both hyperinflation and heavy taxes... It's no wonder they're desperate." She concluded with a frown. Fortunately, all of the terms she had just used were pretty much the same in this world, so she hadn't mentioned anything too alarming to the others, but they were impressed with her knowledge of economics. Sinbad and Ja'far suspected that they must have received a rather extensive education. They thought the twins must have come from a family that was fairly well off.

"Wow, that's amazing." Faith said, giving her sister a little round of applause.

"You'd know all this too if you had bothered to stay awake during civics class…" Hope reminded her with a wry smile.

"Nah, that's what I have you for!" Faith told her sister with a brilliant shit-eating grin, causing Hope to sweat-drop.

"Yes, it's just as you said, Hope-san." Ja'far told her. "And I've heard that this paper note called 'huang' was issued by the Kou Empire."

"!" The twins' eyes widened in surprise.

'Them again?' Faith thought, furrowing her brow slightly. 'Man, these guys keep turning up like a bunch of bad pennies…'

'Crap…!' Hope thought, biting her lip. A bead of nervous sweat slid down the side of her face, and she shifted a bit guiltily as she recalled how she had told pretty much everything she had just said to Kouen while trying to explain how the 'dollar' worked. This wasn't her doing, was it...? She really hoped it was all just a very nasty coincidence.

"Moreover," Ja'far continued, "when I went to investigate this thoroughly, I found that… the king of Balbadd, Ahbmad Saluja, is engaged to marry a princess from the Kou Empire."

"What did you say_!_?" Sinbad asked, furrowing his brow. "That bastard… Why didn't he tell us anything about this?" he wondered seriously, holding his chin. His expression made Faith want to do bad things with him.

"More importantly, the biggest problem we have here is certainly the Fog Troupe. Since our opponents have a Djinn's Metal Vessel, as well as that many magical items… if we don't revise our battle plans, the situation will become very serious." Ja'far said grimly. "It looks like establishing contact with Sindria is still the best choice."

"I guess you're right." Said Sinbad. "Since I lost all of my metal vessels…"

"Hey, couldn't you teach Hope how to use hers?" Faith asked.

"I could… but it would take time." He replied thoughtfully. "It's not something you can master overnight. By the way, where's Aladdin?" he asked.

"Well…" Ja'far said, glancing at the twins.

"Aladdin's still upset over that jerk, Alibaba!" Faith huffed moodily, crossing her arms.

"Since then, he's been resting in our room." Hope added. "He might be a magi, but he's still a kid… and, to him, Alibaba was a very important friend… His rejection must've been a huge shock."


	40. Chapter 40

**Previously: **

_"More importantly, the biggest problem we have here is certainly the Fog Troupe. Since our opponents have a Djinn's Metal Vessel, as well as that many magical items… if we don't revise our battle plans, the situation will become very serious." Ja'far said grimly. "It looks like establishing contact with Sindria is still the best choice."_

_"I guess you're right." Said Sinbad. "Since I lost all of my metal vessels…"_

_"Hey, couldn't you teach Hope how to use hers?" Faith asked._

_"I could… but it would take time." He replied thoughtfully. "It's not something you can master overnight. By the way, where's Aladdin?" he asked._

_"Well…" Ja'far said, glancing at the twins._

_"Aladdin's still upset over that jerk, Alibaba!" Faith huffed moodily, crossing her arms._

_"Since then, he's been resting in our room." Hope added. "He might be a magi, but he's still a kid… and, to him, Alibaba was a very important friend… His rejection must've been a huge shock."_

* * *

**Chapter 40: Moon Watching**

* * *

Standing alone in the dark room, illuminated only by the light of the full moon, Aladdin stared out of the window into the cool night.

"Ugo-kun, it has taken a long time… to reach Balbadd." He said quietly. "But, it's just like you said. Just like how I have experienced many things this past half year… Alibaba must have gone through a lot as well…" He felt a sharp pang of sadness when an image of Alibaba's face when he told him he couldn't fulfill their promise flashed through his mind. "All right! What should I do from now on? I have to set a new goal for myself!" Aladdin said brightly, trying to cheer himself up. "That's right. I should continue fulfilling my promise to Ugo-kun, to find the rest of the Djinn's Metal Vessels. And I should talk to Sinbad-ojii-san with Faith and Hope… and ask him about things like being a magi and dungeons… Ah! And if they figure out a way home, I can follow Morg-san and head over to the Dark Continent, too! I wonder what it's like? Hehe, to think that there were so many things that I can do!" He exclaimed, when his stomach suddenly growled long and hard. Aladdin paused for a moment and blinked. "I'm starting to feel hungry again! Come to think of it, I haven't eaten since yesterday… Let's find something to eat then!" he said brightly as he turned to step away from the window. "Huh?" Aladdin said, confused when his body suddenly went limp, and he fell into a kneeling position, sitting on his feet. "… I don't seem to… have any energy left…" he realized as it hit him how emotionally and physically drained he felt. "…" Aladdin stared up at the moon, thinking about all the adventures he'd had with Alibaba, as well as with Faith and Hope, and imagined what could have been if Alibaba had come with him, and the twins didn't have to go back to their old world. 'To think I was… so looking forward to it, too…' he thought sadly, suddenly feeling very lonely when it occurred to him that everyone would be leaving him soon or later. He sat there in the darkness as a cloud passed over the moon silence without moving. The room he was in and the night outside seemed perfectly still.

And then, everything seemed to happen all at once. Through the window, he saw a small shadow form on the moon, which grew bigger as it drew nearer, revealing itself to be Morgiana, who was flying towards him with Alibaba in her arms. As the door to the room was opened by Faith to let Hope in with a tray of food for Aladdin, Morgiana threw Alibaba in ahead of her through the open window, and the screaming teenaged boy was sent rolling past a very stunned Aladdin.

"WAAAAAAA_!_!_!_" Alibaba cried with tears in his eyes as he crashed into the wall near a pair of startled twins. Aladdin stared across the room at him, stunned. Alibaba stared back.

"H-Hey…" he greeted the younger boy a bit awkwardly with a lopsided smile. "Sorry for disturbing you… Aladdin…" A vein popped on Faith's forehead.

"You've got a lot more than that to be sorry for, jackass_!_!" she snapped with a dangerous look in her eye as she loomed over him, making a fist.

"Oh, so this is what you were up to, Morg-chan? Good job!" Hope said with a smile, setting down the tray of food in her hands and offering Aladdin and Morgiana some snacks. "Who wants juice?"

"Uwaah_—_It multiplied_!_!_?" _Alibaba shouted in alarm as he flinched in shock, seriously freaked out to see two Faiths in the room when he recognized the twins' faces, though one of them seemed distinctly less evil.

_"Who're you callin' an it!_?" Faith demanded furiously, giving him a good whack on the head. "That's my sister, dumbass_!_! You're just a big bag of asses today, you know that_!_?"

"…" Aladdin blinked as he watched Faith pummel Alibaba. To their surprise he started to laugh.

"Huh?" Faith said, so taken aback that she actually stopped as she and Alibaba stared at him, stunned. Was this really something to laugh at? She was trying to be serious, here…

"Hehe… Sorry, it's just… like old times, isn't it?" Aladdin said with a small smile, remembering how Faith used to beat Alibaba whenever he said something she didn't like.

"…" Faith frowned slightly in annoyance as she exchanged a glance with Alibaba before dropping him like a sack of rotten potatoes.

"Hmph! Whatever…" She grumbled as she plopped herself down beside Hope and Aladdin, and popped a rabbit-shaped apple slice into her mouth. Hope smiled wryly, while Alibaba sweat-dropped, glad she had decided to stop before his condition became critical. The five of them sat there in silence (or stood, in Morgiana's case) for a while, until finally Alibaba couldn't take it anymore.

"H-Hey! It seems like you're doing well." He remarked nervously to Aladdin. He really wished Faith would stop glaring at him…

"Mm! Alibaba, too!" Aladdin replied brightly.

"It's… been half a year, hasn't it?" Alibaba asked. "You look like you've changed quite a lot since then, no?"

"Mm! Alibaba, too…" Aladdin said, though there wasn't really anything noticeably different about him, aside from a slight change in wardrobe.

"…" Another heavy silence fell over the room.

"Please get to the point." Morgiana told Alibaba bluntly, making him flinch. "Yesterday, you even pointed your blade at Aladdin-san… so, please hurry up and explain why you are with the Fog Troupe."

"…" Alibaba furrowed his brow with irritation and bit his lip as he looked down, feeling a bit guilty. "You're annoying… I was actually getting to that part… but, since you said it like that, I don't feel like talking about it anymore…" he retorted rather petulantly.

"…" Morgiana furrowed her own brow slightly as she and faith stared at him with an extremely pissed off expression on their faces, while Hope watched with an equally unimpressed look upon her face. What was he, three?

"You want me to beat it out of you?" Faith asked with a scowl, getting ready to roll up her sleeves for another pummeling session.

"Please hurry up and explain it. This isn't a time to joke around." Morgiana said strictly.

"Do you even know what kind of situation this country is facing because of what your Fog Troupe is doing?" Hope asked with a frown as Morgiana clenched her fists.

"Trading has stopped because of this internal conflict… The government has abandoned its citizens… And those innocent people who ran away because of this… found themselves being caught by slave traders!" Morgiana said sternly, trembling with anger and a feeling of betrayal as tears began to form in her eyes when she thought of poor little Nadja crying while they were being held by Fatima and the thieves. "I never could have imagined that you would be carrying out misdeeds like these… When you were in Qishan… you were a kind person who was even willing to donate his entire fortune, just to free slaves like me! To think I was so grateful to you for that_!_!"

"…" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Alibaba's slightly flushed face as he closed his eyes, ashamed.

"I seriously… cannot imagine you're the kind of person who doesn't even care about someone's well-being…_!_!" she yelled with tears in her eyes, flustered. A vein throbbed on Alibaba's heads as he sat there sulking while her cheeks puffed out angrily.

"Yeah, you tell him, Morg!" Faith encouraged the younger girl. "We're all _super _disappointed and pissed at you, Alibaba-_san._" She added scathingly, shooting him the evil eye.

"Hey, quit trying to throw more fuel on the fire!" Hope scolded her sister. Morgiana was totally right, of course, but this little tantrum fest wasn't getting them anywhere. "You're not helping, so let's leave this to Aladdin, all right…?" she suggested, exchanging a glance with him. The two boys probably had a lot to talk about. Aladdin gave her a small smile and nodded in appreciation.

"Calm down for now, Morg-san…" He said gently. "I can understand that you are angry because you have experienced a lot of problems. And I know you two have been worried about me…" he added, giving the twins an apologetic smile. "But, the five of us finally got the chance to gather like this… Speaking of which, the moon is very pretty today… So, let's talk about some happy things instead! Right, Alibaba?" Alibaba lifted his head, looking up at him in surprise.

"R-Right!" he answered as a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. "… Speaking of which… where have you been all this time?" he asked curiously, sounding a little nervous. "Ever since we conquered the 7th dungeon… I only got to see this girl…" He said, pointing at Morgiana. "When you didn't come over to find me at all, I almost died worrying about you! Where have you been exactly? It looks like Faith managed to find her sister somehow, but… I mean, you are Faith's sister, right? Then… I guess you're also from another world, huh? … N-Nice to meet you." Alibaba told Hope a bit awkwardly.

"Yes, and it's nice to you meet you, too… though I wish it was under better circumstances." She returned his greeting with a polite smile, even though she was also upset with him for hurting Aladdin's feelings. The others had already given her a heads up that he knew about that. Alibaba sweat-dropped, not quite sure what to make of that. Receiving such a pleasant smile from someone with the same face as Faith (who was still shooting laser eyes at him) kind of gave him the chills.

"Hehehe." Aladdin laughed, amused at the odd expression on his friend's face. "Don't be surprised, all right? We were… at a place called the Kouga village all this time."

Then Aladdin started to talk about what happened at the Tenzan Plateau, where he and Faith ended up after leaving the dungeon. He talked about how they had found Hope, and all the other people they met over there. How they were seen as family members by the people, and how he met an important person there. And why that person died because of war… as well as getting closer to solving the mystery of this world. Even how Kouga village turned out to be Goltas' birthplace. He and the twins spoke about their journey together from the grass plains to the large desert… the sceneries and creatures that they saw for the first time… as well as how they got past a difficult crisis, and how they finally reached Balbadd…

"Whoa… to think that so many things happened!" Alibaba exclaimed with a smile. "It really was a rather exciting adventure!"

"Yeah!" Aladdin said with a smile. "Also, to be able to find you in this country… we ended up needing to help out with arresting members of the Fog Troupe." Alibaba's smile fell at that.

"Tch! We totally didn't expect _you_ to be one of them, though…" Faith muttered, causing Alibaba to sweat-drop when she clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Yes, from what I've heard about you, this doesn't seem to fit your personality at all…" Hope said calmly. "I think you must have your own reasons for being with them, something really important to you."

"I believe that as well." said Aladdin. "So, please… tell me… the reason why you decided to join the Fog troupe."

"…" Alibaba was silent for a moment. "Aladdin… do you still remember what I told you and Faith in the 7th dungeon? 'Do you think you could introduce me to your friend, Ugo-kun?' But before that… could you listen to me about a friend of mine?" he asked carefully.

"Sure! Of course!" Aladdin agreed with a smile.

"His name is… Cassim…"


	41. Chapter 41

Author's note: Hi! Sorry for the super long wait, but it's back! Thank you very much for your patience!

* * *

**Previously:**

_"Whoa… to think that so many things happened!" Alibaba exclaimed with a smile. "It really was a rather exciting adventure!"_

_"Yeah!" Aladdin said with a smile. "Also, to be able to find you in this country… we ended up needing to help out with arresting members of the Fog Troupe." Alibaba's smile fell at that._

_"Tch! We totally didn't expect you to be one of them, though…" Faith muttered, causing Alibaba to sweat-drop when she clicked her tongue in annoyance._

_"Yes, from what I've heard about you, this doesn't seem to fit your personality at all…" Hope said calmly. "I think you must have your own reasons for being with them, something really important to you."_

_"I believe that as well." said Aladdin. "So, please… tell me… the reason why you decided to join the Fog troupe."_

_"…" Alibaba was silent for a moment. "Aladdin… do you still remember what I told you and Faith in the 7th dungeon? 'Do you think you could introduce me to your friend, Ugo-kun?' But before that… could you listen to me about a friend of mine?" he asked carefully._

_"Sure! Of course!" Aladdin agreed with a smile._

_"His name is… Cassim…"_

* * *

**Chapter 41: Incident**

* * *

"Cassim?" Aladdin asked.

"Yeah. He's the real leader of the Fog Troupe. He's the one who created it. But, it seems he always wanted me to be the leader, though." Alibaba explained.

"What sort of relationship does he have with you?"

"It's very similar to the relationship between you and Ugo."

Aladdin was surprised.

"Yes, Cassim and I have been friends since long ago." Alibaba said with a small smile, and with that he began his tale.

He told them everything, starting with how he and his friend were born into the slums of this country. Faith had a laugh about 'tunnel death row'. Although the two boys often fought, in reality they were the best friends. They would run around the junkyard streets together every day. But not everything was the same for the two of them. Alibaba told them he had a kind and gentle mother.

"Woah, Alibaba's mother?" Aladdin asked excitedly.

"Yeah, my mother." Alibaba said with a nod and a small smile. "She was a really kind person." He went on to explain that his mother had been a prostitute in the slum quarters.

In the evening he would return to his mother's lap. His mother was a cheerful person, so he was always happy. But it was different for Cassim. His father was a worthless man, a violent drunk who was always yelling and often beat his children. One day Cassim's father hit him so hard that he knocked out several of his teeth, and when Cassim's little sister, Mariam, cried for her brother, their father hit her as well. Cassim was so angry that he threatened to kill his father, which only made the man try to hit him harder. Seeing this, Alibaba's mother ran over and managed to put a stop to it by knocking the drunk off of his feet. After that, she held Cassim and Mariam tightly in her arms, as if they were her own children, and let them cry as much as they wanted. Alibaba admitted to feeling a little jealous at the time, even though he was glad she had saved his friends, because he thought his mother had been stolen from him for a moment. After that day Cassim's father disappeared from the slums. They didn't know if he had ran away or hanged himself somewhere to die, but that kind of thing seemed to happen a lot in the slums. So Alibaba's mother adopted Cassim and Mariam, and they became a family of four.

"A family… must have been lively." Aladdin said.

"Sounds fun." Said Hope.

"Yeah, it was lively and fun." Alibaba agreed. "And Cassim changed after that."

Cassim always stole. But one day he was caught by the old man at the store, and when Alibaba's mother found out she went and bowed on the ground in front of the man to apologize for Cassim, promised to repay him for the stolen goods, and begged him to hit her instead, because Cassim's faults were her responsibility as the parent. As expected, Cassim behaved himself after that incident. But even that strong and kind mother died one day because of an illness.

"That day was a really sad one…" said Alibaba, looking down. "I was still a kid then. I was lonely and anguished and didn't even know the reason why…" He had the twins' sympathy. They had been really young when they lost their own mother. "But Cassim never cried. Because he was a year older than me, he took the role of an older brother."

That day Cassim told Mariam and Alibaba not to cry and promised that he would protect them from then on. The three of them were only small children, but they combined their strength and really did their best to survive. Life took a better turn from there. Alibaba's mother's old customers and the neighbors helped them out. They did all sorts of work. Picking up trash, polishing boots, and leading foreigners in their sightseeing tour of Balbadd. But Cassim used the wrong methods for survival. He went back to stealing. Moreover, he used the bad kids in the street in a showy way. Alibaba said Cassim was probably driven to desperation to secure their situation. That led to a day Alibaba asked Cassim if he should give him a hand. Cassim told him he didn't have to do such things, because Alibaba was different from him. Alibaba, taken aback, asked what he was talking about. Without looking at him, Cassim replied that he had recently realized that he was villain, just like his father, whereas Alibaba was different, because he was like his mother, living in a respectable way. Alibaba didn't know what to say to that, but he thought Cassim was being too hard on himself. He thought Cassim was good too. After a pause, Cassim said this:

'… Hey… We are friends, right?' Now Alibaba knew exactly how to respond to that.

'Yeah! Isn't that obvious_!_?' he answered his friend's silly question excitedly. Cassim smiled.

"Cassim seemed a little weird that day. I remember it even now." Alibaba told the others solemnly. "A few days later, something even more odd happened…"

One day, someone dressed in fine clothes, a palace guard, came into their makeshift home and told Alibaba that someone wanted to see them. It was the king of Balbadd.

"The king…" Morgiana, Aladdin, and the twins said, surprised.

"It was really shocking, the king visiting the slums!" Alibaba said. "And on top of that…"

To Alibaba's shock, the king suddenly told him that he was his son, and that from that day forward, he would live in the palace. Alibaba told him that couldn't be possible. His mother was a prostitute, so no one could ever be sure whose child he was. But, according to the king, his mother used to work in the palace as a maid, and it seemed like that was where he was sired by the king. Alibaba didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't find a reason to get away. He was just a roach in the slums, and the other party was a king. So he discussed it with Cassim. It didn't matter to Alibaba that the king's men had told him not to tell anyone that he was a prince, because Cassim was family. Alibaba was so sure Cassim would stop him, that he would also want to stay together. But Cassim's response was strange. Instead of trying to stop him, he told Alibaba that he always thought was strange that there would be someone like him in the slums. Alibaba asked him what that was supposed to mean. Cassim told him it was the reason Alibaba shouldn't be his friend. He clenched his fists and said,

'I can't stand this. You don't steal. You don't do evil things. Always by yourself, acting goody-goody. You and I have been a totally different type of human since we were born! Hurry up and go wherever you want to!' Cassim had finished with a sneer.

Alibaba was hurt and angry, and he beat Cassim up really badly. And like that, Alibaba said goodbye to the slums. From that day on, his life changed completely. Just by taking a bath and putting on expensive-looking clothes and shoes, he was suddenly a 'prince'. The situation was almost laughable. But, after that day, a difficult life awaited him. He was a dirty brat from the slums, and those people in the palace who saw him that way stared at him coldly. Especially the princes Ahbmad and Sahbmad, who looked at him as if he were a piece of trash. Even the person who brought Alibaba in, the king, ignored him completely when they were in the palace. He was lonely. On top of that, he had to go through intense training and lessons daily. Everything from how he should walk, speak, and eat to sword fighting, economics, and even mathematics and philosophy.

"Honestly, I didn't like philosophy or swordplay, so it was really difficult. Ah! But I loved the practice lessons for economy outside of class!" Alibaba said, lighting up. "Also, I didn't at all hate reading those books from the shelves… especially the adventure novels when the public 'dungeon capturing' boom started. To cut it short, I hung in there. I didn't have a place I could return to… But, by doing my best, the cold stares I had been getting changed. Some of those people finally began speaking to me properly… Even the younger prince, Sahbmad, got closer to me. In only three years, my days at the slums had become but a distant memory. It was strange, really. I couldn't remember anything about that place anymore. The place where I was brought up as a child…"

One night, Alibaba secretly escaped from the palace. He wanted to have a look at the slums. But nothing was there. There was no trace of when Junkyard Street was cleared up, or of the people who lived in the slums. Not a soul was there. At a loss, I had no choice but to return to the palace. At that moment… Cassim suddenly appeared from the other side.

"Why did I meet Cassim at that time, I wonder. At that time… if only I hadn't escaped from the palace…" Alibaba said, furrowing his brow and looking deeply troubled. "If only I hadn't met Cassim at that time… That incident would not have happened…"

"That incident?" asked Aladdin.

"I told you about it before, didn't I? About that time I slipped up very badly…" Alibaba said, looking down. "After all that time he had changed quite a bit, but I knew it just had to be him. Cassim looked surprised, wearing a bizarre expression as if he'd met a dead person. Because of the way we had parted, I hesitated to speak first… but in the end I was the one who broke the silence. At the time, I didn't know what was going on in his mind. To be frank, talking to him was fun and nostalgic… But now, thinking back, I realize… he had a moment when his eyes were filled with darkness. On that day, from the moment he met me, he had made a decision that he would cause that incident to happen."

"… Alibaba…" Aladdin said softly as he and the girls furrowed their brows in concern.

"You keep talking about 'that incident', but what is it? What happened?" Faith asked pointedly, starting to get a little impatient. It's not that she wasn't sympathetic, she just felt like he was dragging the story out too much.

"I'm getting to that." Alibaba said, wishing she could be a little more patient. "Cassim invited me to 'get a drink'. I didn't know the meaning of those words. That was because we weren't even of age yet. But it wasn't vexing. I felt that he was more mature than I was… so I followed him. And then I found out… that he was a regular of that shop! One frightening adult after another was bowing to a brat like him. As I gave him a closer look, it seemed that he was surrounded by money." He explained.

Cassim's clothes were worn and dirty, but he was wearing some expensive jewelry. Alibaba had been nervous, but Cassim casually ordered drinks for both of them and toasted their reunion. Alibaba asked Cassim what he had been doing and how Mariam was and what had happened to the rest of the people in the slums. Cassim told him that the slums didn't exist anymore, that they had been cleaned up and everyone had gone their separate ways. Alibaba was shocked. He really hadn't known anything. But Cassim laughed off his ignorance, teasing and goading him into drinking the alcohol he had bought for him. During the three years in the royal palace, Alibaba had learned many things. Literature, swordplay… But Cassim had also learned things that he hadn't been taught yet… Acting, drinking, how to follow up on a comment… In short, a guy well-equipped with social skills for the adult world. Their conversation began with talking about the past. Alibaba got carried away with the atmosphere and went blabbering on and on. Cassim was complaining that Mariam was foolish and troubling him.

"I laughed at that. But, I was the most foolish…" Alibaba said feeling, looking down. "As our conversation was about to end…"

Cassim brought the subject back to how Alibaba had mentioned being locked up in the palace and asked how he had escaped. Alibaba told him that it was hard because there were lots of guards, and revealed that he had escaped through a tunnel, reminding Cassim how he had been famous for making them back in the slums. He spoke about it with pride. Although the walls looked solid from the outside, the interior was not completely so. Just a little, the cracks and crevices in the walls were beginning to give way. Alibaba told Cassim how he had made the opening bigger, creating tunnels in the palace walls. Alibaba never told him where the walls were weak. Though he was drunk, he had at least that much discretion. He didn't think Cassim had to know that much. But, Cassim didn't need to hear it. It was getting late into the night, and if Alibaba didn't return to the palace soon, it would have been bad. But, before that, he had something he needed to tell Cassim no matter what.

'… Hey…' Alibaba has said nervously as they both stood up to leave. 'Cassim… on that day I entered the palace…' Cassim flinched slightly. 'At that time… Umm… I'm sorry for hitting you.' Alibaba apologized. 'When you said 'go wherever you want', you did so for my sake, right_!_?' he asked with a warm smile.

'…' Cassim stared at him in shock, astonished. He let out a quiet sigh of relief. '… Of course! Isn't that obvious?' he said with a bright smile on his face. 'We're best friends, right_!_?'

"I was elated! Cassim had done that for my sake! And, at that time, things were again how they had been in the past. We were the best of friends again! The other guys hanging around also encouraged me a lot. And that was why I wasn't careful. The underling Cassim gave money to, trailed me to the palace…" Alibaba told the others, clenching his fists, as he kept his head bowed in shame. "… How stupid I was…"

"Alibaba…" Aladdin said, wishing he knew what to say to make him feel better.

"…" the twins said with a frown, concerned. That sounded like some serious foreshadowing.

Alibaba went on to explain how a period of grace had followed his reunion with Cassim. As usual, his lessons in the palace were straining, but something had become unbound in him, and he could tackle anything that came his way. And then, one day, the king summoned him. The king had grown too weak due to a one-year chronic disease and had passed his authority to his eldest son, Ahbmad. The king said this: 'I do not have much longer to live. But, this country cannot remain as it is now.'

"At that moment, things weren't going well in Balbadd. Our main trading partner, Partevia, was in a recession, so we switched to the Kou Empire from the Northeast, which intervened with our economy by smuggling weapons." Alibaba explained.

'Kou Empire_!_?' Aladdin and the twins thought, startled. They had been involved with Balbadd for that long?

"The envoy of the Kou Empire had begun exerting influence on Ahbmad around that time, and he even meddled in matters of internal politics." Alibaba said.

He told them that Ahbmad was a lazy person, though, and thought it was troublesome. His submission to the envoy was what concluded things. The king told Alibaba that he wanted to leave the country to him. Alibaba was shocked. Was he telling him to be king, even though he was only a kid from the slums and fully incompetent? The king spoke so much, and before Alibaba could get a word in…

'As I thought, it's impossible?' the king asked, seeing the look on his face. 'But… there's no one but you I can entrust it to…'

The king explained it to him, about the country being in a critical situation. And how he could not feel at ease handing the country's politics over to Ahbmad and Sahbmad, who had been taught by his late legal wife, but that he probably wouldn't have time to do it himself…

'… Your Majesty, I request that you hear one thing I have to say.' Alibaba said after a moment of silence.

'… What is it? Say it out now.' Said the king.

'Your Majesty, what was mom… No, what did you think of my mother?' Alibaba asked carefully, lowering his head.

'So it's about Anise…' the king mused quietly. Alibaba's mother's name was Anise. 'There were many obstructions… I couldn't be together with her…' he said. 'But… yes… I loved her.' The king stated solemnly as he stared up at his son. Alibaba's eyes widened slightly.

'… Thank you, Your Majesty. With those words, I can press on from here.'

"That was the first time my true feelings gushed out. And that I could fully accept that that person was my father." Alibaba confessed. "But…"

'But I am unable to accept what you have asked.' Alibaba continued seriously. 'This country already has my brothers, the two princes Ahbmad and Sahbmad. I believe that the country will fall into a state of disorder if I jump in now. More over, I was… living in the slums living in the slums until three years ago, so I know how the people feel… If you revive the slums, I believe my brother and the others will be more than willing to help.'

'… I see…' the king said after a moment of silence. 'I'll leave it to you.'

"It was a sobering experience. There, I resolved to devote myself to this kingdom!" Alibaba said, tightening his fists briefly before lowering his head. "… But, that was my last meeting with king… And that night, that incident happened… Still thinking heavily about the conversation I had with the king during the day, I slipped out of my bed, going towards the place below the palace where the walls were weak… That night was a totally dark one, without a moon… The light of the stars was barely enough for me to navigate my surroundings…"

Aladdin and the girls tensed, sensing the story was about to take a tragic turn for the worst.

"And there he was… Yes, it was him! It was Cassim!" Alibaba said, clenching his fists again as he grit his teeth with hurt and frustration as he remembered how he had felt that night, seeing his old friend there and his horror at the betrayal that followed. "I was shocked. Why was he there_!_? For a moment, I thought maybe he had come to visit me and have some fun… But, of course, that wasn't the case. One after another, people I didn't know appeared behind Cassim. I recognized a few of their faces. Yes, they were from Cassim's group of bandits from the slums! Cassim came into the palace with that bunch of people to steal from it! Yes, Cassim had continued to steal_!_! But the scale on which he did it was also incomparable to that of before_!_! So many thoughts ran through my head at that moment… panicked thoughts about what I should do… whether I should call out to Cassim… whether I should call for people from the palace… what would happen to Cassim if I did… would my friend be executed_!_? Why_!_? Even though I just promised my father… that I would take care of this country… Why exactly did this happen_!_!_?_" Alibaba was shaking, still angry with himself. "Why, it was because I didn't grasp hold of Cassim's true nature. As if it was fine, I drank and blabbered. When things were going well, I thought 'I'll devote myself to this country!' In reality, I'd be piling all the responsibility on myself. And at that moment, I didn't move a single step. I didn't want Cassim to be arrested, I didn't want the palace to be assaulted. Not being able to choose one or the other, the coward that I was…"

Hope poured another glass of juice and handed it to him. Alibaba was reluctant to accept it, clearly still deeply affected by his feelings of guilt over the situation, but she held his gaze until he gave in. Alibaba breathed deeply and took a sip of his juice, and he was much calmer as he continued.

Alibaba then explained how he had been hit hard over the head by one of the bandits with Cassim while he was frozen in place.

'We've been seen… What should we do, boss?' the bandit asked his leader.

'Ah…' Cassim said, glancing down at the fallen prince as he exhaled the smoke from his cigar. 'You don't have to kill him… tie him up and leave him.' He ordered, tossing away the cigar carelessly.

"And what I heard in my clouded consciousness was…" Alibaba said, furrowing his brow as he tightened his grip on the cup in his hands. "The sound of flames, voices of confused escapees… Cassim was going around and using the opportunity to steal the treasures of others. Though Cassim was the one who stole the treasure, the thing which allowed him to do so was my blabbing about the tunnels in the palace walls."


	42. Chapter 42

Author's note: Hi! Sorry for the super long wait! I'll try to update more frequently, but just as a heads up, I may change my writing style for this story to make it read less like a manga and more like a novel. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Previously:**

_"And what I heard in my clouded consciousness was…" Alibaba said, furrowing his brow as he tightened his grip on the cup in his hands. "The sound of flames, voices of confused escapees… Cassim was going around and using the opportunity to steal the treasures of others. Though Cassim was the one who stole the treasure, the thing which allowed him to do so was my blabbing about the tunnels in the palace walls."_

* * *

**Chapter 42: Rest Assured**

* * *

"So that is what happened…" Aladdin said sympathetically, feeling sad for Alibaba.

'And having the palace treasury robbed probably hastened the depletion of this country's financial resources…' Hope thought with a frown. It must have been hard on Alibaba, bearing the burden of all this…

"Yeah…" Alibaba said glumly. "Then, next morning… 'The king has passed away.' Those were the first words I heard when I woke up. The cause of death was his illness, but the previous night's incident had certainly hastened its progression. I felt like I'd caused the death of the king…" Hope lowered her head sadly. She knew how that felt. Even Faith's expression softened when he had to pause for a moment. "Because I was scared, I fled Balbadd on that very day. And with that, the story of my time in Balbadd ends."

"I see… so that's how it is…" Sinbad mused quietly to himself with his ear on the end of the fluted cup he had pressed to the wall to aid him in his successful attempt to listen in on the conversation taking place in the room on the other side. Having followed the twins when they went to check on Aladdin, he had managed to hear the whole conversation from beginning to end while Masrur kept guard. "I've heard that the previous king had an illegitimate child… so this is what happened."

"Hey, Sin. You know eavesdropping on another's conversation is a bad habit, right?" Ja'far scolded him in a low voice with a frown, even though he was kneeling down right beside the king with his own cup pressed to the wall.

"There's no other way." Sinbad said, keeping his voice to a whisper. "If I was to enter the room, 'Wonder Man Alibaba' would refuse to talk. And thanks to this, we were able to discover something extraordinary about those twins…" He never would have suspected they were from another world! It was inconceivable. He had seen and encountered many mysterious things in his time, but never anything like this… How could such a thing be possible? Even now he had trouble believing it. However, it did help explain a few things... He was also impressed that Hope had managed to escape capture by the Kou Empire alone without having to use her djinn. "Anyway, keep it down." He concluded, shushing his aide when Alibaba started to talk again.

"I headed south after I left Balbadd, and earned a small living at the city near the oasis." The runaway prince continued to explain. "I was happy passing my days without being bound. It was also around that time that I started to plan for 'dungeon diving', which I had wanted to do for a long time. I thought that maybe if I entered a dungeon and got hold of some treasure, I could make amends… Soon after that, I met you, Aladdin, and Faith."

"…" Aladdin was quiet, waiting patiently for him to continue. But not Faith.

"Yeah, and we all know how that turned out." She chimed in with a smirk.

"After that you captured the 7th dungeon…" Morgiana said. "But, I still don't understand… If Cassim had betrayed you, then why did you still join his 'Fog Troupe'?"

"Seriously! If it was me, I would've kicked his ass, not join his club." Faith said dubiously, crossing her arms. Alibaba looked down with a serious expression on his face.

"… Since I'd already captured a dungeon," he said, picking up where he left off, "I decided to return to Balbadd. I wanted to settle something before taking that first step into my new life, and carry out my promise with Aladdin… I wanted to return to the palace and reveal the truth about that incident. However… when I got here, I was appalled by the condition of Balbadd. You won't be able to tell from here, but the condition of Balbadd near the borders is too horrible to even look at. Entire streets filled with people suffering from hunger… What exactly had happened to this country? Then, I heard a rumor from someone. That there was a group of people who was actively opposing the country's military… and that they were actually… Cassim's 'Fog Troupe'!" To say that he was shocked would be an understatement. "I had kept myself from thinking about Cassim all this time. I didn't even want to think about the fact that someone who was as close as him had actually deceived me. But, after hearing that rumor, I decided that if I wanted to settle things, I'd have to find Cassim first! A rogue nearby immediately brought me to Cassim when I paid him…"  
Aladdin and the girls braced themselves as Alibaba then recounted how he had been lead to a ragged tent, and he lifted to flap to enter and confront Cassim.

'… Is that you, Alibaba?' Cassim had asked, shocked to see him again.

"And there was Cassim, who I hadn't met in a long time."

"Cassim!" Morgiana said angrily, furrowing her brow with a frown.

"I hope you greeted him with a rocket punch." Faith quipped.

"You're mistaken." Alibaba told them earnestly. "Although Cassim's actions sounded like those of a villain, and I sound like a victim who was fooled repeatedly, It's not all Cassim's or the 'Fog Troupe's' fault… From Cassim, I heard how the country itself had been treating the people in the slums. And so, I found out I hadn't known anything at all… that he'd actually had his difficulties, too." He said, squeezing his hands. "He revealed the truth to me. That, after I had left the slums, inhumane restrictions had been set on the slums' inhabitants. Among others, restrictions had been placed on usage of residential areas, access to goods and what activities were allowed by the residents. Simply put, people in the slums no longer had access to the daily necessities. Except for doing labor work provided by the government, there was no way out of the slums. In short, they became a prison." Faith and Hope frowned as they continued to listen to all the details that Alibaba had learned from Cassim.

According to Cassim, during the second year after Alibaba left, and there was an outbreak of infectious disease in the slums. Not only did the palace offer no help, they even locked down the slums to keep the disease from spreading to them. Without any doctors or medicine, the residents of the slums died one by one… including Cassim's younger sister, Mariam. Cassim had been forced to watch helplessly while she suffered a slow and painful death.

'… I couldn't… I couldn't do anything at all…_!_!' Cassim had cried, on the verge of breaking down just thinking about it.

'… How can that be_!_?' Alibaba asked, shocked and horrified by this revelation. 'Didn't you tell me before that… everyone had been moved to a different area and was doing fine?'

'It was the only answer I could give you_!_!' Cassim shouted miserably, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. 'You kept asking all that with that foolish grin on your face, not knowing anything_!_!'

'_!_!' Alibaba gasped when he saw the tears threatening to fall from his old friend's eyes.

'At that time, I'd already decided… no matter what would happen, I'd fight to save the slums!' Cassim swore grimly, trembling with anger and frustration as he grit his teeth, letting go of Alibaba so he could raise his fist in the air. 'And to accomplish my goal, I need 'power'_!_! That's why I created the Fog Troupe! Fortunately, I heard from you about your tunnels… that attack on the palace's treasury allowed our Fog Troupe to become stronger! We gathered more subordinates, bought new weapons, and finally have enough power to fight the armies of the hated Ahbmad Saluja_!_! But we're still missing something_!_!' he said, slamming his fist against the table. 'No matter what, we're just a group of people from the slums… Even if this continues, we'll eventually be eliminated as a group of thieves…'

'Cassim…'

'…' Cassim fell silent, then raised his head to look at Alibaba. '…! Haha…' A laugh escaped his lips when he was struck by an idea.

'?' Alibaba was confused.

'Haha… Right… That's right_!_!' Cassim said, surprising Alibaba as suddenly he grabbed him by the shoulders. 'Alibaba_!_! Join the Fog Troupe_!_!' he said desperately. 'No… why don't you use your identity as prince and be our leader instead_!_? This way… the Fog Troupe… will never be 'mere thieves' again_!_!'

"And so I joined the Fog Troupe." Alibaba concluded grimly. "After talking with Cassim, I finally understood. That regardless of what had happened, Cassim was still my friend and family. And now Cassim is facing a big problem_!_! I want to be able to help him_!_!" he said earnestly. "I immediately took action. And had us distribute the stolen goods to the residents. As long as we have the support of the residents, the Fog Troupe won't be mere thieves but rebels_!_! After I get the needed support, I'll reveal my identity and go negotiate with that bastard Ahbmad. Aladdin, I have already decided_!_!" he declared with a desperate righteous fury.

Faith stared at him in astonishment. Hope and Aladdin wore solemn expressions on their faces.

'So, that's why…' they thought. 'For his important friends and citizens… Alibaba had to go through a lot of anger and aguish before finding the determination to resort to weapons…'

'But… what is this feeling?' Aladdin wondered with a small frown. 'I feel like I have seen something similar before…' His eyes widened and he gasped as he remembered the Kouga clan, the expressions on their faces as they called for war were the same as the one on Alibaba's face now! 'I've got it.' He thought grimly as Hope spoke.

"Then, if the king is unwilling to accept your advice… what will you do?" she asked gravely, coming to the same conclusion. "Will you start a war?"

"!" Alibaba gasped, looking startled. He paled and a bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of his face as he remembered the conversation he had had just had with Cassim before Morgiana brought him here. "That is…" he said nervously, recalling how Cassim had been building their forces by recruiting so many unsavory characters lately. He had asked that same question.

_"Could it be you're going to start a war?"_

"I understand clearly… about Alibaba's feelings of wanting to help a close friend." Aladdin said earnestly. "But, if war is declared due to a moment of anger, I believe that many tragic things will occur…" Like Baba's death.

"…" Aladdin and the girls stared at Alibaba, waiting to hear his reply.

"But… I… I know that!" Alibaba said anxiously. "But… But is there even another way_!_?" he yelled, standing up. "This country's situation is beyond dire right now! There must be something we can do about it, and as soon as possible! I can't ignore those residents who are suffering! That is why I decided to confront the country as it is now… but… I also know what you're saying is right! What we did is causing even more refugees! Even if we only fought the military and the nobles, it's true that regular people got hurt, too_!_!" he shouted frantically, becoming so worked up in his desperation, that it made Morgiana nervous enough to start sweating. "I… I don't even understand what I'm doing anymore… I'm just too useless… That's why I didn't want to meet you at this kind of time, Aladdin… _Please… Please leave! Just leave this country!_!_!_" he screamed.

_WHACK._

Alibaba was startled when Aladdin and Faith abruptly delievered sharp blows to the top of his skull with his staff and her hand. "That hurts! What are you doing_!_?" He shouted incredulously, cradling his aching head.

"As if we could leave after seeing such a sorry-ass expression on your face!" Faith huffed while she and Hope crossed their arms, and Aladdin regarded him with a puffy-cheeked frown.

"_!_?" Alibaba exclaimed indignantly with a vein throbbing on his forehead. That little…!

"Calm down, Alibaba." Said Aladdin.

"Yes, I think you're making things more complicated than they have to be, so you get too worked up to think about them properly. Take a breath." Hope advised him.

"Yes, it is true that the problems this country is facing are difficult for us to solve…" Aladdin agreed as he stood up and crossed over to stand in front of his friend. "But, rest assured." He placed a hand on Alibaba's shoulder. "I will help you come up with a solution!" Alibaba's eyes widened. "Let me think with you… to come up with a way to help your important friend, too_!_! And there's also Faith, Hope, Ugo-kun, and Morg! We can definitely of a way if we all work together!" Aladdin said brightly with a smile.

"Yeah, my sister's a genius, remember?" Faith added with a grin, while Hope smiled kindly.

"We really like this world, so if there's a way for us to help, especially for a friend of Aladdin's… we'll do what we can." Hope said.

'Aladdin…' Alibaba thought, staring up at his friend and the others with wonder. Even Faith and her sister, who had never met him before, wanted to help. He suddenly remembered their time together in Amon's dungeon, when Aladdin's cool-headed thinking and Faith's ability to adapt to the situation had saved them. And now they were saving him again. "… For raising my voice… sorry." He said quietly, lowering his head.

"It's okay." Aladdin said with a smile, offering him his hand. "It doesn't matter…"

Just as Alibaba moved to accept it, the shutters on the window behind him burst open with a great crash, and Alibaba, Aladdin, and the twins were sent rolling across the room from the explosive force as rubble rained down around them. Morgiana was the only one still standing.

"_!_?" They gasped in alarm and looked up as the dark silhouettes of those responsible crept up un the moonlight.

"Hey… I've been looking for you…" A chilly wind swept through the night as they stared up at the wild young man who bore a strange sword on his arm and was surrounded by a myriad of thugs. "I've come to save you, partner." He told Alibaba with a smirk.

"Cassim!" Alibaba gasped.


	43. Chapter 43

**Previously:**

_"Hey… I've been looking for you…" A chilly wind swept through the night as they stared up at the wild young man who bore a strange sword on his arm and was surrounded by a myriad of thugs. "I've come to save you, partner." He told Alibaba with a smirk._

_"Cassim!" Alibaba gasped._

* * *

**Chapter 43: Attack**

* * *

CRASH—_!_!

Sinbad flinched in pain as he drew his head back and dropped the cup he had been using to listen in. "What_!_? What happened_!_?" he exclaimed. "There was suddenly this loud sound from above…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the twins came rolling out through the door, which had been blown open in the blast.

"Oomph!" they grunted, landing on top of each other in a heap.

"W-What the_!_?" Faith exclaimed, staring into the room with wide eyes, while Hope blinked and stared up at Sinbad and his retainers. She noticed the cup and how close he was to the wall.

"… Were you eavesdropping on us?" Hope asked.

"Uh…" Sinbad said awkwardly, caught in the act. He was saved from his feeble attempt at an explanation when Masrur and Ja'far twitched upon sensing danger.

"Sin, behind you!" Ja'far shouted, while Masrur braced for action.

_CRASH!_

"_!_!" The twins gasped in alarm when a strange projectile crashed through the other wall behind the king. Without Ja'far's warning, Sinbad would have been skewered. Droves of armed thieves came pouring in. The hotel had been completely surrounded from the outside.

"Damn, they're over here, too_!_?" Faith cried.

Still inside the room, Alibaba glanced behind him in the direction of her voice and saw the other thieves. "Cassim_!_! What did you bring so many subordinates for_!_?" he demanded, afraid of what the answer might be.

"Isn't that obvious_!_?" Cassim retorted with a frown as he stepped down to enter the room. "When we found out that you had been abducted, we immediately came to save you_!_! According to reports, our enemy has extraordinary skills. That is why I mobilized the whole group!"

Alibaba gasped. "What are you saying_!_?"

Aladdin and Morgiana stared at Alibaba's rough and dangerous friend. "So, this is Cassim?" she asked. They had faced each other before.

Cassim furrowed his brow as he stared down at Aladdin. "You… aren't you those brats who interfered the other day_!_?" he asked Aladdin and Morgiana, recognizing them from their previous fight. "I see… you're part of the military, too, eh?" he concluded darkly, raising his blade.

"…_!_?" Alibaba gasped in alarm, worried a fight was about to break out between his friends.

"You must be Cassim. You're here to take Alibaba back, right?" Morgiana said, staking a step forward as she prepared to fight. "Do you want to leave with him, Alibaba?" she asked, glancing back at him over her shoulder.

"…_!_!" Alibaba said, startled. He tried to quickly think of what he should do. He didn't want to abandon Aladdin again after his offer to help, but he knew that he would have to go back with Cassim sooner or later…

He was startled again by the sound of a loud crash and screams. He whipped his head around and was shocked by what he saw. The other members of the Fog Troupe were ransacking the hotel and accosting everyone in sight. And the twins were right in the thick of it, already caught up in the chaotic violence that was consuming the entire building.

"Attack! Attack! Everyone in this hotel is rich!" one of their men shouted vindictively.

"Hey, back off_!_!" Faith yelled, delivering a roundhouse kick to the man's ribs when he reached for her next.

"Hands off the women and children!" Hope shouted, flipping a thug who had tried to attack a scared mother and her little boy.

"Whoa! Those girls are dangerous! Who's our target?" asked another member of the troupe.

"No idea, Cassim ordered us to capture everyone." Answered another.

"Cassim_!_!" Alibaba shouted furiously. What the hell was he thinking_!_? "What are you doing_!_?" he demanded. "I've never heard of the Fog Troupe attacking a hotel_!_!"

"You idiot! If we don't do it thoroughly, we'll be the ones to die!" Cassim retorted gravely. "Our enemy is 'Sinbad'_!_!"

"Damn!" Faith cursed as she and Hope stood back to back against the overwhelming threat they faced. They kept getting pushed farther and farther away from Aladdin and the others. They braced themselves for another attack as two men with swords charged at them, but to their surprise, their attackers were suddenly stopped when two dart-like blades attached to ropes shot out from over their shoulders to bind them in place.

"Over here!" Ja'Far called, and they saw that he, Masrur, and Sinbad were waiting for them towards the back of the room near a marble table, away from the main part of the fray. The girls didn't need to be told twice. They immediately knocked out the two men who had tried to attack them and ran over to join the others while Ja'Far pulled his darts back into his sleeves.

"Thanks for the save!" the twins said.

"Who are these guys?" Sinbad asked.

"The Fog Troupe! Their leader's in the room with the others!" Faith explained as the droves of thieves finally came after the king and his retainers, led by a large, muscular man wearing a cloth tied around his head so it covered one eye and a strange sword similar to the one Cassim had on his arm.

"How dare you take our leader away!" he roared, glaring fiercely at them.

'There target is me? Is the Fog Troupe taking revenge for yesterday?' Sinbad wondered with a frown, disturbed by their tactics. 'How did they find out about me…?'

'There must be a leak somewhere…' Hope thought. "It's not like we're holding him against his will. Can't we talk about this?" she asked, looking for a way to stop the violence before more people got hurt.

"Do it!" the one-eyed man ordered. The men with him raised their crossbows, and the twins immediately hit the floor as they fired. But there was no need. In that instant, Masrur flipped the huge table up in front of them with one hand to block all of their arrows. Sinbad and Ja'far didn't even flinch.

"_!_!" The twins and the Troupe members gasped in astonishment at his speed and strength. The thieves broke out in a cold sweat.

"That table is made of marble_!_! Is that guy a monster_!_?" the one-eyed man yelled, shocked. Ja'far took advantage of the moment of confusion to launch a counter attack. He jumped out from behind the table and threw his rope darts to take out the crossbows. Their wielders cried out in alarm as the weapons were destroyed.

"Sin!" Ja'far shouted.

"Leave it to me!" Sinbad said, lunging forward through the path Ja'far had just created for him to launch an attack on the one-eyed man.

CLANG!

Sinbad smirked as they crossed swords. His opponent was trembling in his effort to keep up with him. It was obvious the king had the advantage when it came to skill with a blade. "Is that all you've got?" Sinbad asked cockily.

The one-eyed man smirked. Thin wisps of yellow vapor began to rise from his blade. A whisper of a sizzling sound could be heard.

"!" Hope gasped when she squinted and saw what was happening. "Get back!" she shouted at Sinbad as the thief's sword started to cut into the king's. She rushed forward from behind the table with Faith hot on her heels.

"_!_?" Sinbad said, alarmed when his blade began to melt.

"Ahh, you're so useless!" Ja'far exclaimed, mortified.

"Shut up_!_!" Sinbad shouted back, chagrined. His eyes widened in surprise as the twins leaped straight over him to deliver a pair of flying kicks to his opponent's face when the one-eyed man tried to take a swing at him with his corrosive blade. But it wasn't enough to take him out in an instant K.O. When the thief reached up to grab the twins' ankles, Sinbad immediately thrust his palms out, slamming them against the other man's abdomen.

_WHAM._

"_!_?" The twins' eyes widened when they sensed the odd ripple of pressure that passed through his body as he released his grip on their ankles and stumbled backwards. The girls landed on the floor and quickly rolled back onto their feet to take up defensive stances while the thief laughed.

"What was that?" He asked. He barely even felt that attack! "What did you do—"

"_!_!" The twins were startled when his eyes bulged in his head, and he suddenly coughed up blood.

"Hassan_!_?" A woman with dreadlocks and piercings cried in alarm as the one-eyed man collapsed to the floor.

"Damn, bro_!_! What'd you do_!_?" Faith yelled nervously.

"A waste of my magoi!" Sinbad complained.

"It was an energy attack_!_?" asked Hope.

"You beast, everybody attack_!_!_!"_ the woman roared furiously while cradling the one-eyed man's head against her chest.

"Ahhh!" The men roared as they charged at them. There was no way out for Sinbad's little group. They had them trapped like rats.

"Oh, boy…" the twins said, sweat-dropping and wearing nervous grins as they faced the oncoming horde.

"Cassim… when you mentioned 'Sinbad'… did you mean _that _'Sinbad'_!_?" Alibaba asked, alarmed.

"I'll tell you later! There's no time!" Cassim said, reaching out to grab him.

Alibaba gasped when he saw Morgiana take up an offensive stance. "Watch out, Cassim!" he shouted, shoving him out of the way as she lunged forward to deliver a powerful kick that destroyed the wall she hit when she flew past them.

"What_!_? Is that girl a monster_!_?" Cassim asked incredulously.

"Anyway, just run, Cassim!" Alibaba yelled urgently.

"Time to go_!_!" Sinbad said when their group was about to be overrun. Masrur took that as his hint to throw the marble table across the room like a giant Frisbee as a distraction. The twins gasped in surprise when Sinbad grabbed them by the waists and flipped each of them up onto one of his shoulders.

"Hey_!_?" Faith shouted indignantly. "What's the—" Whatever complaint she and Hope had been about to make died in their throats as they watched Masrur launch himself into the air and punch a hole through the ceiling like a human drill. "Whoa…"

"… Going up?" Hope said wryly, sweat-dropping, as they stared up at their new escape route as Ja'far leaped up after Masrur and dropped his rope darts down for Sinbad to climb up with them.

"Attacking this hotel's innocent guests… The nature of a thief is hard to change, but let me take care of that!" Morgiana said sternly as she chased Cassim's group and Alibaba up to the roof.

"Wait, Morg!" Aladdin called as he hurried after her. He was worried about Hope and Faith. He had lost sight of them during all the confusion.

"Come, monster girl!" Cassim dared her when they reached the roof, confident they could defeat her with their superior numbers now that they'd had a chance to regroup. "I'll stop you with the black fog again_!_!"

A small crack formed in the floor of the roof and quickly exploded outward as Masrur came crashing up through it, followed closely by Ja'far, Sinbad, and the twins. The girls had insisted on finishing the climb themselves, and the king was more than ready to oblige when Faith took advantage of her position hanging over his shoulder to feel up his tight behind.

"…" Masrur said, standing firm at the front of the group, while Ja'far sweat-dropped at Faith's antics, and Sinbad made sure to stand at what he deemed to be a safe distance from her.

"Sinbad ojii-san! Faith! Hope!" Aladdin exclaimed in surprise.

"Are you all right, Aladdin?" Hope asked.

"More strange people appeared_!_?" the thieves shouted.

"They're just trying to scare us! Go, everyone!" Cassim shouted, urging them forward.

"Aye!" the thieves shouted, getting ready to attack.

"Damn, how many of these guys are there?" Faith asked, raising an eyebrow at the huge number of enemies they now had to face. There were even more out here than there had been inside the hotel!

"Yes, there's quite a lot of them…" Sinbad remarked coolly. "Masrur!"

"Understood." Masrur said with a nod, taking a step forward before assuming an odd fighting stance that the twins had never seen before. The Fanalis took a deep breathe, and launched himself forward in a devastating strike that decimated anyone unfortunate enough to be in his path, depleting their numbers by a third as he cut a wide path through the horde of thieves to reach Cassim, whom he quietly landed just a couple of feet behind. Cassim looked like he was ready to crap his pants. The twins and Morgiana were stunned, their jaws had literally dropped.

'A-Amazing!' they thought, as they watched the older Fanalis return to Sinbad's side, rendered speechless. Which was particularly impressive in Faith's case.

"Masrur, you over did it." Sinbad said. The majority of the people he sent flying had nearly been thrown clear from the roof. "Use less power next time."

"You… who the hell are you…?" Cassim asked nervously.

"What… Wasn't I the one you were looking for?" Sinbad asked.

"So you're Sinbad. It's you who provoked us first!" Cassim said angrily as he raised his sword. The twins readied themselves for another strange attack. "Take this! Sword of the Binding Black Fog!" he yelled, swinging his sword to send a jet of black-purplish fog shooting toward Sinbad. Sinbad braced himself as the heavy fog swirled around him and brought him to his knees.

"What's this?" said Sinbad.

"It looks gross." Faith quipped, wrinkling her nose a little.

"Is that the 'black fog' from yesterday?" Hope asked.

"Yes." Said Ja'far, nodding in confirmation.

"Ah, so this is the thing that caused you to be captured yesterday." Sinbad remarked calmly.

"Don't move, or you boss loses his life!" Cassim shouted.

"That's so weak, yo." Faith said with a frown. Why take a hostage? They still had, like, a hundred guys left. Hope glanced worriedly at Ja'far and Masrur, but they were completely unfazed. They didn't seem to be worried about their king at all. She thought about the odd attack he had used on the one-eyed man and wondered if he still had something up his sleeve.

"Shouldn't we help him?" asked Morgiana.

"There's no need." Ja'far answered quietly so only they could hear. "He's not called 'King of the Seven Seas' for nothing."

"Wait, Cassim, what exactly are you saying_!_?" Alibaba asked worriedly.

"We received information! The king of Sindria, Sinbad, is going to take care of the Fog Troupe_!_!" Cassim explained urgently.

"Ah, who was the one who told you that?" asked Sinbad.

"Stop asking questions when you're the one who's caught!" Cassim snapped.

"Caught? You mean this?" Sinbad said with a sigh. The twins were surprised when a soft, warm glow spread through the captured king's hands. They weren't the only ones.

"… What's that light_!_?" Cassim asked. As the glow spread, the black fog broke down and disappeared. 'The black fog… dissolved_!_?' he thought, alarmed. "How can that… How can that be_!_?" Squinting, Hope thought she could see s few small, rukh-like shapes in the light.

"Cool..." Faith said appreciatively. She totally wanted to learn how to do that.

"I told you, didn't I?" Ja'far said with a smile. "Sinbad, 'the King of the Seven Seas'… is already used to seeing mysterious powers!" The thieves stared at the king of Sindria in shock and awe.

"A magical item of this level is useless against me." Sinbad declared with a confident smile. Cassim grit his teeth as his eyes widened in fear.


	44. Chapter 44

**Previously:**

_"Caught? You mean this?" Sinbad said with a sigh. The twins were surprised when a soft, warm glow spread through the captured king's hands. They weren't the only ones._

_"… What's that light!_?_" Cassim asked. As the glow spread, the black fog broke down and disappeared. 'The black fog… dissolved!?' he thought, alarmed. "How can that… How can that be!_?_" Squinting, Hope thought she could see s few small, rukh-like shapes in the light._

_"Cool..." Faith said appreciatively. She totally wanted to learn how to do that._

_"I told you, didn't I?" Ja'far said with a smile. "Sinbad, 'the King of the Seven Seas'… is already used to seeing mysterious powers!" The thieves stared at the king of Sindria in shock and awe. _

_"A magical item of this level is useless against me." Sinbad declared with a confident smile. Cassim grit his teeth as his eyes widened in fear._

* * *

**Chapter 44: Alibaba and Sinbad**

* * *

"Damn!" Cassim cursed.

"What's wrong? No more trump cards?" Sinbad asked. "With this, I've fulfilled my promise to Ahbmad. How's that Ja'far? Didn't I say I'd do it somehow?" he asked his retainer with a smile.

"Yes, you're right." Ja'far conceded.

"Now," said Sinbad, turning his attention back to the thieves, "as long as I hand you over to the military… my job is done." Cassim and Alibaba gasped in alarm. "Isn't that right, 'Wonder Man Alibaba'?" Sinbad asked, looking straight at the blonde.

"_!_?" Alibaba's eyes widened in surprise. How did he know it was him? In the blink of an eye, Masrur had Cassim restrained using only one hand. Everyone tensed as the monstrously strong Fanalis held his sword out to Sinbad, and the king slowly drew it from its sheath.

"Now, Draw your sword!" Sinbad challenged Alibaba grandly, raising the blade as he faced the young prince. "Let's settle this between us, as leaders. I won't mind if you use it. After all, you're a dungeon capturer, aren't you?"

A cool wind swept over the rooftop as 'Wonder Man Alibaba' nervously stared down 'the King of the Seven Seas.'

'How did it turn out like this… 'Sinbad'_!_? Isn't he the legendary dungeon capturer_!_?' Alibaba thought anxiously, furrowing his brow and gritting his teeth. How was he supposed to compete with that?

"Please wait!" Morgiana said, stepping forward "Alibaba-san is…" She was surprised when Ja'far held out an arm to block her path. "Aladdin!" she whispered anxiously.

"…" Aladdin just stood there, watching Sinbad and the movement of his rukh.

"Hey, shouldn't we stop this? You know, for various reasons…" Faith whispered to Hope.

"…" Hope shook her head after a moment when she saw the glance that was exchanged between Aladdin and Sinbad. She could see from the look in his eyes that the king had no intention of actually harming Alibaba. "No, but be ready… just in case something goes wrong." She whispered back. After all, Alibaba had a metal vessel, while Sinbad had none. Who knew what sort of destructive power his Djinn might hold? Actually, judging by the expression on her sister's face, she was pretty sure Faith was looking forward to that. Hope sweat-dropped. Well, it was true that this would be their first time seeing a metal vessel user other than Aladdin in action… They had arrived too late to see how Hakuei used hers. They were both curious about how Alibaba's Djinn was going to manifest itself.

'Why aren't Aladdin and the twins stopping them_!_?' Morgiana wondered anxiously. 'Alibaba-san is in danger!'

"Alibaba, run! Run away_!_!" Cassim yelled, unable to escape Masrur's grasp. "Hey, you guys! Take our leader and escape from here_!_!" he shouted at the rest of the Troupe.

"Ah, prioritizing the leader's life? That's also another way of doing things." Said Sinbad. "What are you going to do, Alibaba? Are you going to fall back for the time being?" he asked. "Either way, the Fog Troupe is already done for. The one controlling the group is this guy, isn't it_!_?" he said, pointing his sword at Cassim.

"Urgh!" Cassim grunted angrily with a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"It's okay, Alibaba. You can run if you want." Sinbad told the prodigal prince. "Think about it carefully, you aren't like these people."

Alibaba stared at him in confusion, stunned. '… What's this guy trying to say…?' he wondered, dreading the answer.

"They are 'residents of the slums.'" Sinbad continued. "You may look like a comrade on the surface, but, in reality, isn't it the opposite? You're different from them."

'Stop it… Stop, don't say it_!_!' Alibaba yelled internally.

"That's because you are… a prince…"

_"Shut up!_!_!"_ Alibaba snapped furiously. "That doesn't mean anything to me_!_! I'm no different from them_!_! We're all from the same place, and they are my brothers! I won't let you… I won't allow you… to insult the bonds between us_!_!" he yelled. Cassim and the other members of the Troupe stared at him in astonishment as he drew his knife. "Spirit of Politeness and Austerity, in the name of my Magoi, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members..." He raised the blade in front of him as it began to shine. "Come Forth, Amon_!_!" he commanded in a bellowing voice as he and the knife were enveloped in a swirling torrent of flames. Faith let out a whistle at the impressive display. "Come then, Sinbad… I won't let the Fog Troupe end like this." Alibaba said gravely. 'As long as I have this power_!_!' he thought.

'So this is Amon… a fire Djinn, huh.' Sinbad thought as he had to raise an arm to shield his face against a blast of flames, which Alibaba tried to use to throw him off-guard as he lunged forth to attack. Alibaba targeted a barrage of sharp thrusts at the king, but Sinbad countered every move. 'So this is Balbadd's royal fencing style… pretty good moves. In combination with the fire attacks…' he thought, calmly analyzing his opponent as they fought.

"Ohh!" Faith gasped excitedly when Alibaba closed in and kicked Sinbad's sword from his hand, sending the blade flying. Alibaba jumped up and swung his fiery blade down at the king, but Sinbad quickly countered by grabbing his wrist. "Ah…!"

'It's over...' Hope thought, as Sinbad's hand started to glow, remembering how he had used that method to dissolve the fog. Sure enough, the flames around Alibaba's blade flickered out in an instant.

"…_!_?" Alibaba gasped and his eyes widened. 'Why… did the fire disappear?' he wondered, alarmed. But there was no time to think. Before Alibaba could recover from his shock, Sinbad used his free hand to deliver a strong blow to the boy's stomach. The Fog Troupe cried out in dismay as his body hit the ground. Alibaba was still conscious, but he couldn't move. He lay on the ground, stunned. All of the wind had been knocked out of his body.

'Wow, he totally kicked his ass!' Faith thought wryly.

"But, as I expected…" Sinbad said, with an odd mix of disappointment and concern on his face. "Alibaba, you really don't know how to use your Djinn properly!"

'Eh? Then what was that just now…?' Hope wondered, titling her head slightly in confusion. She had thought the flames meant that it was working…

"And that decides it. I'll hand you over to the military." Sinbad said, concluding their duel. "I wonder how… will King Ahbmad destroy the rest of the Fog Troupe…?"

"…_!_!" Many of the thieves gasped in alarm upon realizing what that would mean for them.

"Of course, no one will be excluded from that fate. Only death awaits those who rebelled!" Sinbad said sternly.

"Whoa! Time out!" Faith said, making a 'T' with her hands. "Who said anything about death? Whatever happened to jail?" she asked dubiously.

"…" Hope's expression as she regarded them was solemn. She frowned. They hadn't realized the death penalty was on the table. She should have asked more about the punishment before agreeing to go along with it. Was Sinbad really serious about this?

"Well, the Fog Troupe aren't normal thieves, after all." Sinbad reminded them. "They've been going directly against the crown as rebels, so they'll be charged with treason. But, of course, all of you should have been prepared for this." He finished, leveling a cool glance at the Fog Troupe.

"…!" many of the thieves gasped, rearing back in fear and panic.

"This is ridiculous… we only joined for the benefits…" many of them began to mutter and try to sneak away. Sinbad made no attempt to stop them.

"Ah, wait for me!" more cried.

"I'm going too!"

"Me too!"

One by one, they started running away in a steady stream, until only a little over forty were left.

"… Only this many people remain?" Sinbad asked.

"… My… Fog Troupe…" Cassim said numbly, staring out at the skeletal remains of his army of thieves in disbelief.

"So, you really are the one who created the Fog Troupe." Said Sinbad. "Revolting with indignation… do you want to die? Without planning, all of this is foolishness."

Cassim grit his teeth in anger. "There was planning!" he snapped. "We've never lost to the military!"

"That was because you could rely on information leaked by that military." Sinbad said.

"_!_!" Cassim gasped, shocked that he could know that. But then he grit his teeth again and glared up at the king as he continued to speak.

"You don't even know how weak you actually are. You're too foolish!" Sinbad said sternly. He was angry, too. "The Fog Troupe is weak! It's so weak that I alone am enough to destroy it!"

"Ku…" Cassim ground his teeth together. This bastard…!

"You are only involving your friends in a battle you have no hope of winning, and that will only end in mutual destruction_!_!" Sinbad scolded him.

"_!_!" Cassim wanted to argue, but he knew Sinbad was right. He was so obviously right that going against him was useless. "Damn it!"

"…" The twins clenched their fists at their side as they watched. It was terrible, but they wouldn't look away. They kept watching. They could at least do that much. Faith frowned, regretting how much of a downer this was turning out to be. Hope furrowed her brow, praying this wasn't the end. They wondered if there wasn't something more that they could do.

"Please, watch carefully. I hate to say this, but… this is the future that awaits all 'virtuous thieves'…" Ja'far said solemnly, addressing all of the children. It was terrible but important lesson they were about to learn. "Their future… holds only death—"

"But_!_!" Sinbad said loudly, cutting of the end of his sentence.

"… What?" Ja'far said, taken aback, while the twins immediately perked up. There was something in the tone of the king's voice that sounded very promising.

"If you really are determined to rise up against the king… there still remains an option open to you." Sinbad told the remaining thieves.

"… What_?_?" Ja'far said again, starting to get a bad feeling.

"Namely, to borrow the strength of others to make up for what you're lacking now… In short, let me become your comrade by joining your Fog Troupe_!_!" Sinbad finished boldly.

_"Ehh!_?" Ja'far exclaimed with wide eyes, paling with shock. What in the world was he thinking_!_?

"…?" Aladdin and the twins were astonished. Morgiana was confused.

"This will benefit you greatly." Sinbad continued. "As that means your Fog Troupe will be able to receive help from my country, Sindria."

"…_!_!_?_" the thieves gasped, shocked and taken aback.

"B… Buwahaha_!_! That's totally awesome!" Faith cheered, bursting out in laughter.

"I'm being serious, you know…" Sinbad said, a little chagrined.

"She knows. That's why she's praising you." Hope explained with a pleased expression. "She's laughing because she's happy."

"Oh…" he said, sweat-dropping. It was really hard to read these girls sometimes. He could have sworn Faith's laughter meant something else.

"Sin… are you going to fight?" Ja'far asked.

"Yep." Sinbad said candidly without hesitation.

"With Balbadd's military?"

"Yep." Said Sinbad with a nod.

"And are you really joining the Fog Troupe?"

"Yep." Another nod.

"… This is too problematic! We're supposed to capture the Fog Troupe. Didn't we come to an agreement with King Ahbmad that he'll reopen trade if we capture the Fog Troupe_!_?" Ja'far pointed out anxiously.

"But now I want to help them." Said Sinbad.

"You are contradicting yourself!" Ja'far snapped with a vein throbbing on his forehead. "Didn't you say, 'no matter the reason, thieving is wrong_!_!_?'"_

Sinbad lowered his head. He was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Ja'far… How cold-blooded can you be_!_?_!_!" he shouted incredulously, striking a dramatic pose as he raised his head and pointed an accusing finger at his retainer and friend.

"W-What_!_?" Ja'far gasped, so startled he actually flinched.

"Thieving is always wrong_!_? I was naïve!" Sinbad yelled, angry with himself for the statement he had made in his callous ignorance of the situation. "You know what has happened, don't you? The miserable condition this country is in… starving mothers… young girls armed with weapons… a corrupt nobility… You've already seen it all! Don't you have an compassion_!_? Are you not human_!_?" he demanded sternly.

'Ehhhh_!_?' Ja'far thought, breaking out in a nervous sweat as he gaped at his king in shock. The thieves were all staring at him and Sinbad with equally stunned expressions on their faces. "Of course… Me too…! I feel the same!" he said, wondering how and why he had suddenly become the bad guy here.

"You see_!_?" Sinbad said hotly as he turned away. "After seeing the state of this country, and that stupid, selfish king I thought this: I would rather help these people who clearly know that they don't stand a chance, but still won't give up fighting for what little they have!" he declared strongly. "Do you want my help?" he asked the Troupe. The thieves gasped. He could see from the looks on most of their faces that they did. "Then let me join your Fog Troupe_!_!"

The thieves began to talk anxiously amongst themselves. To them his proposal was so incredible, so inconceivable, they had a hard time believing it. They started saying things like "What_!_? A king join a group of thieves_!_?", "What's that guy thinking?", and "Did he go crazy_!_?"

Cassim grit his teeth and furrowed his brow, wearing a bitter expression on his face. 'What kind of joke is this… I will not be fooled,' he thought.

"What is it Aladdin?" Morgiana asked when she heard him laugh softly.

"Mister Sinbad is so interesting," Aladdin said with a smile. The rukh around the unusual king were very bright and clear.

"Yes, that's one word for it," Hope agreed wryly with a smile. She wondered if this had been his intention all along, ever since they encountered that group of desperate civilians the other night.

"He really knows how to steal the show," Faith said with a grin. "I was worried how things were gonna turn out for bit, but that really surprised me! Like something out of a movie!"

"Yes," Aladdin agreed, even though he had never seen one, "although he is a weird person, I know he'll definitely become really famous in the future! I wonder, had he already planned all of this from the start?" He could tell by the look in her eyes that Hope was thinking the same. "Anyway, whenever Sinbad ojii-san speaks, the people around him are unable to ignore him."

While the four friends chatted over the marvelous turn of events, Masrur silently gave a few comforting pats on the back to poor, frazzled Ja'far.


	45. Chapter 45

Author's note: Sorry for the long wait! The format has changed a little, so _thoughts are in italics. _I've also decided on a voice actress for the twins. Since they're identical and have the same vocal chords, I picture them both being voiced by Hirano Aya. Faith's voice is a slightly deeper/lower pitch than Hope's. So Hope sounds like Lucy Heartfilia, and Faith sounds like Suzumiya Haruhi. If you prefer an English voice actress, then think Cherami Leigh. Thanks! I hope you enjoy the update!

* * *

**Previously:**

_"Thieving is always wrong!_? _I was naïve!" Sinbad yelled, angry with himself for the statement he had made in his callous ignorance of the situation. "You know what has happened, don't you? The miserable condition this country is in… starving mothers… young girls armed with weapons… a corrupt nobility… You've already seen it all! Don't you have an compassion!_? _Are you not human!_?" _he demanded sternly._

_'Ehhhh!_?' _Ja'far thought, breaking out in a nervous sweat as he gaped at his king in shock. The thieves were all staring at him and Sinbad with equally stunned expressions on their faces. "Of course… Me too…! I feel the same!" he said, wondering how and why he had suddenly become the bad guy here._

_"You see!_?"_ Sinbad said hotly as he turned away. "After seeing the state of this country, and that stupid, selfish king I thought this: I would rather help these people who clearly know that they don't stand a chance, but still won't give up fighting for what little they have!" he declared strongly. "Do you want my help?" he asked the Troupe. The thieves gasped. He could see from the looks on most of their faces that they did. "Then let me join your Fog Troupe!_!"

_The thieves began to talk anxiously amongst themselves. To them his proposal was so incredible, so inconceivable, they had a hard time believing it. They started saying things like "What!_? _A king join a group of thieves!_?"_, "What's that guy thinking?", and "Did he go crazy!_?"

_Cassim grit his teeth and furrowed his brow, wearing a bitter expression on his face. 'What kind of joke is this… I will not be fooled,' he thought._

_"What is it Aladdin?" Morgiana asked when she heard him laugh softly._

_"Mister Sinbad is so interesting," Aladdin said with a smile. The rukh around the unusual king were very bright and clear._

_"Yes, that's one word for it," Hope agreed wryly with a smile. She wondered if this had been his intention all along, ever since they encountered that group of desperate civilians the other night._

_"He really knows how to steal the show," Faith said with a grin. "I was worried how things were gonna turn out for bit, but that really surprised me! Like something out of a movie!"_

_"Yes," Aladdin agreed, even though he had never seen one, "although he is a weird person, I know he'll definitely become really famous in the future! I wonder, had he already planned all of this from the start?" He could tell by the look in her eyes that Hope was thinking the same. "Anyway, whenever Sinbad ojii-san speaks, the people around him are unable to ignore him."_

_While the four friends chatted over the marvelous turn of events, Masrur silently gave a few comforting pats on the back to poor, frazzled Ja'far._

* * *

**Chapter 45: Alibaba and Ahbmad**

* * *

"So anyway, will you acknowledge me as a member, Alibaba-kun?" Sinbad asked boldly.

Alibaba stared at Sinbad in disbelief. He could hear the Troupe members around him saying things like "What exactly is he thinking_!_? That old man…" That's what _he_ wanted to know. "… Sorry, but… I don't see myself as still being so naïve that I'd believe you. What are you planning?" Alibaba asked the king warily. "The king of a country directly intervening with another country's domestic affairs—you definitely have an ulterior motive, don't you?"

"… All I want to do is help the citizens of this country," Sinbad insisted evenly. "However, even if I say this, you probably won't believe me." Alibaba narrowed his eyes and stared hard at him in response. "Well, then…" the king said, moving to kneel down before the prince on his level. "If you want me to cite another reason for joining… It would be to stop the 'abnormalities' of the world!" he stated seriously.

"Abnormalities of… the world…_!_?" the thieves gasped.

Aladdin's eyes widened slightly.

Hope furrowed her brow a little, wondering what he could mean by that.

"… Okay, I'm lost," Faith admitted frankly. "What are these so-called 'abnormalities of the world'?" she asked, making air quotes with her fingers.

"You may be unaware of this, but in recent years, this world has been struck by chaos," Sinbad replied.

"…" Aladdin and Hope were pretty sure they had heard something similar before.

"!" Aladdin gasped when he remembered his private conversation with Hakuei and how she had mentioned that the world was currently afflicted by abnormalities. All around the world, there were many wars and dangers. Like the one that almost broke out between the Kou Empire and the Kouga clan.

Hope's lips formed a small frown when she recalled how Kouen had told her a little about all the recent wars and increase in poverty in many parts of the world.

Could that be what he meant?

"In particular, 'abnormalities' mean wars and poverty, and deepening discrimination. The world has been thrown into overwhelming turmoil…" Sinbad continued, confirming their suspicions. "As king of Sindria, I am concerned about this problem. This situation fills me with sorrow. With a rising population of refugees and the huge blow to its economy, this country has suffered enough. That is why this time, I want to solve one of the 'abnormalities of the world'—the internal strife of Balbadd. What do you say to that?"

Alibaba was astounded and confused. _What do I… What is this guy thinking of…!_? he wondered, feeling bewildered. _All of a sudden he's saying the world's… He's clearly more dominant, so why does he still ask for my opinions…?_

"Don't be fooled by him!" Cassim shouted, standing up again.

"Cassim_!_!" Alibaba gasped.

Cassim glared at Sinbad. "I won't be fooled… as a 'king,' how can he just commit himself to be our 'comrade'? All you royalty and high-class bastards trample on us lowlifes to survive_!_! You're actually just eager for us filthy, poor and inferior people to die from starvation and rot, right_!_?" he accused bitterly with a sneer. "You just want to live your lives in luxury! Am I wrong? Sinbad-san…" Before he could say another word, Ja'far's rope darts shot straight past his face, close enough to graze his cheek. The darts hit the floor with enough force to crack the target and bury themselves deep into the roof. "Wha… What_!_?" Cassim cried in alarm, falling back into a sitting position.

"Shut up," Ja'far said with an eerily calm expression on his face while he pulled his weapon back and advanced towards the callous thief. "You have no idea what Sin has gone through all this time… what kind of wounds he has sustained… or how much he's had to sacrifice for others…" Ja'far grabbed Cassim by the front of his tunic and held one of his darts over him in his hand. "You know nothing, you ignorant thief!" He moved to stab him, but was stopped when a strong hand grabbed the lower half of the dart.

"Stop it, Ja'far," Sinbad ordered calmly, keeping a firm grip on the dart while he knelt beside Ja'far.

"!" Ja'far gasped when he saw the blood dripping from Sinbad's hand. He flinched and immediately withdrew when he realized that his actions had caused his king to get hurt, and what he had been about to do. It was too easy to fall back into old habits when he was angry. "… My apologies!" he said earnestly.

"Ok," Sinbad said with a nod, glad to see that he had calmed down. Ja'far immediately started digging through his sleeves in search of some emergency first-aid supplies.

"Okay… I'll listen to you! Just knock it off," Alibaba said anxiously, rushing to stand protectively between them and Cassim. "So what do we do now_!_?"

"So you're willing to let me join? Thanks," Sinbad said, giving him a smile, while Ja'far bandaged his injured hand.

_Don't think they really had much of a choice…_ the twins thought.

"Ja'far-oniisan can be scary," Aladdin said while beads of sweat rolled down the sides of his, Morgiana, and the twins' faces.

"Sometimes…" Masrur agreed.

_I hope his wound isn't deep,_ Hope thought, frowning with concern. Not only because that had to hurt, but a cut on his hand could affect his ability to fight. It was good that Sinbad stopped Ja'far, but she wished he would've grabbed his wrist instead.

"Then, without further ado," Sinbad said, "Alibaba, let's take action immediately."

"Action?" Alibaba asked. What kind of action?

"You'll come to Balbadd's palace with me," Sinbad stated confidently.

"_!_?" Alibaba and the Troupe gasped, staring at him in shock.

"Comrades, my ass," Cassim snapped. "In the end, you just want to hand Alibaba over to the palace_!_!"

"That's not it. We're going there for negotiations," Sinbad said calmly. "Alibaba, didn't you say before? 'I'll get support from the citizens first, then reveal my identity, before negotiating with Ahbmad.' Now is the time to take action."

"?" Alibaba said, taken aback. _Where did he hear that?_? he wondered. The only ones he had told about that outside the Fog Troupe were Aladdin, Morgiana, Faith, and Hope.

"You've already succeeded in gaining the people's support," Sinbad continued. "And, as a king, I'll vouch for your identity as prince. You can just reveal your identity to the people. This way, you can use your status as leader of the 'Fog Troupe' and as the third prince of Balbadd to negotiate with Ahbmad."

"But…" Alibaba said, looking unsure of himself as he stared down at the ground.

"Are you afraid you won't be recognized?" Sinbad asked.

"…" Alibaba was quiet.

"Don't worry, you truly are a prince," Sinbad reassured him with a smile, placing a hand on his chest. "Your father was an old acquaintance of mine. He's talked about you with me before."

"What_!_?" Alibaba gasped and raised his head to look up at him in surprise.

"Yes… You resemble the previous king closely," Sinbad said. "You are, without a doubt, a prince of Balbadd. Isn't that why you carry… such heavy responsibilities?" he asked, adopting a serious expression while he looked the young prince in the eye. He could tell from the expression on the boy's face that his words resonated with Alibaba. "What do you think, Cassim?" Sinbad asked, turning his attention to the prince's partner in crime. "If the negotiations are successful, the lives of the people in the slums will be guaranteed. Isn't that what you were hoping for?"

"…" Cassim continued to stare at the king with narrowed eyes, a furrowed brow, a frown, and an extremely jaded look on his face.

"…" Hope glanced from him to Alibaba, who still hadn't given Sinbad an answer. He didn't look like he had much confidence in himself.

Aladdin noticed this, too. "Go on, Alibaba," he said. "There's nothing to fear." Alibaba raised his head again and turned to look at him. "You're a brave person, I know it_!_!"

"Yeah, you act like a ditz most of the time, but you're really reliable when it counts_!_!" Faith added with a grin, giving him a hardy slap on the back.

"I don't want to hear that from you!" Alibaba said with a vein throbbing on his forehead. But he straightened up with a determined look on his face and pulled himself together, gaining courage from his friends' encouragement.

Hope smiled. "Then, the first thing we need to do… is inform the public," she said. "I think it will help show how important this issue is to the people if we can have them gather in a large crowd where the king can see them. It's harder to turn a blind eye when the problem is standing right in front of you."

"That's just what I was thinking," Sinbad said with the hint of a smirk.

That day, major news circulated through Balbadd. The leader of the 'Fog Troupe,' 'Wonder Man Alibaba' was actually the third prince of Balbadd, and would enter the palace alone for negotiations. People gathered before the palace at noon to wait for the result of the meeting, entrusting all of their hopes for the future to this negotiation between the leader of the anti-government group and the king. The roar of the crowd was so loud that Alibaba and Sinbad could hear it clearly through the open windows in the palace as they stood before King Ahbmad.

"… Ah…" Ahbmad sighed, resting his large head on one hand while he lounged languidly on his throne. "So it was you, Sinbad-ojiisan, who caused this uproar. I requested for the 'Fog Troupe' to be captured, but instead you stirred up trouble."

"I'll leave the negotiations to you brothers," Sinbad said. "I have a principle of not meddling with other countries' domestic affairs."

"You still have the cheek to say that! Haven't you meddled enough already_!_!_?"_ Ahbmad shouted indignantly with several veins throbbing on his head while he pointed accusingly at the other king.

"Here, Prince Alibaba, say it," Sinbad said, encouraging the young prince to step forward. "Don't you have many concerns to raise?"

"Le-Let's listen… Onii-sama…" Sahbmad whispered anxiously in his brother's ear from his position behind the throne. He was already dripping with nervous sweat. "A-Alibaba is a sensible person… I-I know this as a fact."

"…" Ahbmad frowned but didn't say anything to stop Alibaba when he began moving carefully towards the throne.

"… Ahbmad-oniisan…" Alibaba said, stopping to stand a respectable distance away from his half brothers. He kept his head lowered. "You should know it, too, but the incident of the palace treasury was caused by me… and you could even say I was the cause of Father's death… I know… that I've committed crimes that could never be forgiven… But… why did the Fog Troupe pillage the palace treasury? Why are the people crowding around the palace right now? Please think about it! The feelings of your citizens! The administration now… is causing the poor to suffer! I understand this, because I, myself, grew up in the slums! Your people are suffering to death right now!" he said earnestly, raising his head to look at them. "This is the reason for my presence here today. Ahbmad-oniisan, I'm asking you as king! Promise me you'll do everything in your power to ensure the citizens' livelihood! If you do that, I'll disband the 'Fog Troupe,'" he declared seriously with a grave expression on his face.

Ahbmad remained unmoved. "Is that all you have to say?" He tapped his scepter against the floor, signaling for the royal guards to surround Alibaba and block him from coming any closer.

"_!_?" Alibaba said, surprised when they crossed their spears to push him back. "Wait_!_!" he yelled, struggling to hold his ground. "You still haven't…"

"You're out of line!" Ahbmad said disdainfully.

"What?" Alibaba said, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"It is insulting that a thief is actually speaking to a king," Ahbmad continued. "Someone of such lowly origins as you, how dare you speak to the rightful king without permission! As I am Ahbmad Saluja, 23rd king of Balbadd, a thief like you has no right to speak to me." Ahbmad narrowed his eyes at the pathetic trash standing before him. "I have never once recognized a foundling from the slums as my younger brother! Do not forget, without the protection of the King of Sindria, you would have lost your head already!"

"…!" Alibaba furrowed his brow and grit his teeth in anger and frustration.

"Get out now, I don't feel well…" Ahbmad ordered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's because of all those maggots swarming outside the palace…"

For a moment, Alibaba was completely dumbstruck by his brother's insensitive words, but his shock quickly exploded into anger on behalf of his people. "DON'T SCREW AROUND_!_!_!_" he roared furiously with veins pulsing on his forehead. "As someone who insults his own citizens like that_!_! You have no right to be king_!_! Absolutely none_!_!" He was so fierce that he made the royal guards flinch, and many of them had beads of nervous sweat sliding down their faces.

"Hm? What on earth is all this ruckus about?" An unfamiliar voice asked from the side.

"Oh, you're back, Banker!" Ahbmad said, looking past Alibaba to the veiled man by the door.

"Wow! More people showed up than I expected!" Faith said, pleasantly surprised. The cheering crowd they were standing in outside the palace extended from its gates down into the rest of the city.

"It goes to show how high the people's expectations are for Alibaba," Hope said. "And how hopeless they feel about the current king." She hoped seeing them would give Alibaba the courage he needed to stand up to his half brothers.

"Do you think Alibaba's going to be okay?" Aladdin asked.

"It all depends on whether Balbadd's king will agree to recognize him…" Hope said.

"You don't think he will?" Faith asked.

"Since Alibaba-san has this many people supporting him, he should be fine," Morgiana said.

"Yes, that's right," Aladdin agreed with a smile.

_I hope that's the case,_ Hope thought. She wouldn't be surprised if they rejected him. She remembered from her world's history that King George had ignored several petitions and most of the delegates sent by a young America, making the colonists feel they had no choice but to resort to a more violent revolution…

"Where are the other members of the 'Fog Troupe'?" Aladdin asked when he noticed that some people who should have been there with them were missing.

"They seem to have returned already…" Morgiana said.

"I see…" Aladdin said.

"You'd think they'd be the most anxious to see how the negotiations went down…" Faith said with a small frown.

"…" Hope frowned, too. She was concerned about Cassim. She didn't think he seemed as happy to accept the plan to try to bring this conflict to a peaceful end as he should have been. In fact, she had the distinct feeling that he may even resent it.

"Ah~ Why are there so many people here… If I had known, I would have brought my carpet," A young man dressed in black mumbled while he pushed his way forward from the back. "How troublesome~, why don't I drive all of them away_!_?" He took another step forward and released a wave of black rukh to scare off anyone sharp enough to sense it.

Hope felt a sudden chill, and Aladdin's eyes widened when he passed them. The young magi could see an enormous swarm of black rukh swirled around the ominous stranger. Hope couldn't see it, but she could feel ill intentions rolling off him in large waves, and she didn't like it.

_What was that?_ Aladdin wondered. _For just a second now… I thought that man looked like a black sun…_


	46. Chapter 46

**Previously:**

_"Ah~ Why are there so many people here… If I had known, I would have brought my carpet," A young man dressed in black mumbled while he pushed his way forward from the back. "How troublesome~, why don't I drive all of them away!_?"_ He took another step forward and released a wave of black rukh to scare off anyone sharp enough to sense it._

_Hope felt a sudden chill, and Aladdin's eyes widened when he passed them. The young magi could see an enormous swarm of black rukh swirled around the ominous stranger. Hope couldn't see it, but she could feel ill intentions rolling off him in large waves, and she didn't like it._

What was that? _Aladdin wondered. For just a second now…_ I thought that man looked like a black sun…

* * *

**Chapter 46: Black Sun**

* * *

Hope froze when the suspicious stranger turned his head slightly, and his eyes met theirs. She exhaled a sigh of relief when he continued on his way without incident, while Aladdin stared after him, wondering if the glimpse he had caught of the black rukh was real, and what it could possibly mean.

"Oh, you're back, Banker," Ahbmad greeted an equally suspicious man inside the palace.

"Yes, I've returned, King Ahbmad," the veiled man said, tugging on his tunic to fan himself. "Balbadd is still as hot as usual. I'm about to faint from the heat." He laughed and turned slightly when he noticed Sinbad. "… Oh? A visitor?"

"He's the King of Sindria, who has come to visit," Ahbmad replied. "You should go and greet him."

"Understood," Banker said, pulling his veil aside as he turned fully to face the visiting king, revealing an odd face with a wide grin, heavy mustache, and mismatched eyes. "Nice to meet you! King of Sindria… I'm 'Banker' Markkio. I'm currently employed as Balbadd's financial advisor. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Nice to meet you, too," Sinbad responded politely, accepting the hand that was offered to him. "I hope to get along with you in the future!"

"No, no, it's my pleasure_!_!" said Markkio. "I feel very honored to even be able to have an audience with the legendary dungeon capturer Sinbad_!_!"

"Haha, that's nothing really," Sinbad said with a laugh. He sobered up quickly when he looked closer at the man in front of him. "…?" Those three dots on his forehead and the design of the staff in his hand were unusual, and there was something disturbingly familiar about him. "Have we met before?"

"No, it's my first time meeting you, my lord!" Markkio answered with a closed-eye smile.

"… Is that so…" Sinbad said with a small frown. He could have sworn…

"Ah~ Out of the way! Out of the way! Why's there so many people blocking the way today…" A familiar voice said from behind, making Sinbad turn.

"!" he gasped when he saw who it was.

"Ah_!_?" the teenager in black said, equally surprised, as he stopped and pointed at him.

_Judar!_? Sinbad thought, shocked to see his old enemy.

"Hey! If it isn't the 'Stupid King'!" Judar said with a grin before bounding over. "Why are you here?"

"Judar, do you know each other?" Ahbmad asked.

"You can say that!" Judar said with a laugh, leaning against Sinbad. "This guy here~ always gets in my way! Hahaha!"

"…" Sinbad was not amused. _Why is Judar here!_? he wondered, deeply concerned. Whatever the reason, it couldn't be good.

"Ah, Sinbad. Let me introduce him," Ahbmad said. "This is Judar, Oracle of the Kou Empire." Judar crossed his arms and smirked smugly as he stood before the older king.

_Oracle of the… Kou Empire…!_? Sinbad thought, startled.

"That's right, I'm currently employed as the 'oracle' of the Kou Empire!" Judar said proudly. "Even today, the reason why I'm here is also because of official business, you know?"

_Has Judar already infiltrated the Kou Empire…!_? _And extended his clutches to Balbadd…_ Sinbad wondered warily while he watched him greet the banker. _Then… that man is also…_

"I'm sorry, Sinbad-ojiisan, but please leave for today," Ahbmad said. "I'll forget about the trouble you caused for now. I still have many government affairs to attend to."

"Wait a second," Sinbad said. "Our conversation isn't over."

"What are you referring to? Oh… that talk about reopening trade with Sindria? Sorry, but I can't fulfill that agreement," Ahbmad said dismissively.

"What do you mean by that?" Sinbad asked.

"I've handed all of Balbadd's trade authorizations… to the Kou Empire!" Ahbmad declared.

"…_!_?" Sinbad gasped, shocked by this twist of events. Had the younger king lost his mind_!_?

"Without the approval of the Kou Empire, Balbadd cannot trade with any other countries," Ahbmad concluded.

"Ahbmad… do you intend to let the Kou Empire control Balbadd?" Sinbad asked. For a country that was founded on free trade and depended so heavily on commerce for its livelihood, this was tantamount to a kiss of death. No wonder their economy was spiraling down the drain!

"My country isn't being controlled," Ahbmad replied calmly, not seeing the problem. "This is just a policy suggested by Banker to revive Balbadd's economy."

"That's right_!_!" Markkio said with a sickening grin and an ingratiating bow. "Connecting the economies of countries together peacefully! That is the job of 'Bankers'!" Sinbad flinched slightly when he felt an ominous shift in the man's energy. "Oh! Since you're a king too, do you want to try handing over your country's economic affairs for us to manage?" the man asked deviously with a predatory gleam in his eye and a dark and dangerous aura behind him.

_There's no doubt!_ Sinbad thought grimly, observing the black rukh surrounding the Banker. _Although this man bears a different appearance and name… he is from that organization! Furthermore, this country is already…_ Between the incompetent nobles, the downtrodden citizens, and the parasitic influence of Judar and the Banker… This country was already done for.

"Wait! I haven't finished what I wanted to say!" Alibaba yelled. "Promise me… as king! Promise me now… to protect those who are suffering_!_!"

Ahbmad yawned. "Sinbad-ojiisan, please remove that 'thing' from here. I can't understand the words of trash from the slums."

Alibaba couldn't believe his ears. He lunged forward angrily, struggling to break free from the guard holding him back, crashing against the crossed spears blocking his way.

"Don't Alibaba! We should withdraw first_!_!" Sinbad said urgently.

"Ahbmad_!_!" Alibaba shouted as the guards pushed him from the throne room. "Listen to me_!_!_!_ We have no differences as humans_!_!" He was pushed back outside into the crowd. "Listen to me_!_!_!_! You bastard_!_!"

That night, many citizens crowded around the Fog Troupe's base, located at the lighthouse in the old slums. The clamor of the people filled the air. Many voices cried out "How did the negotiations go with the king_!_?" Inside, members of the Fog Troupe who stayed in were also in a state of panic. That was because during the time when Alibaba went for the negotiations, Cassim, Zaynab, and Hassan had disappeared without a trace.

"What happened to the negotiations?" one of the remaining men asked.

"From the look of things, it doesn't seem like it was successful…" said another.

"What'll become of us now… Will the military attack us?" asked the first man.

"No way! That's never happened before!" a third man protested.

"That was just because Cassim had a helper in the palace," a fourth man pointed out. "Now that the entire cadre is gone… we're all done for…"

A heavy, oppressive silence filled Alibaba's small room. He sat on his bed while Aladdin, Morgiana, and the twins waited for him to speak.

_Alibaba-san… hasn't spoken a word since he's returned…_ Morgiana thought, growing concerned. It was late in the afternoon when he and Sinbad came back, and now the sun had set. _Did the negotiations fail?_

"…" Aladdin and Hope could see how deeply upset Alibaba was in the way he was hunched over, keeping his head down to avoid looking at them.

_That bad, huh…? _she thought sympathetically with a frown.

TAP. TAP. TAP. Faith had begun to tap her foot impatiently, feeling more and more uncomfortable with the dismal atmosphere. She had reached her limit, and was just about to snap, when Aladdin finally broke the silence.

"Alibaba, how did the negotiations go?" he asked with calm smile.

"!" Morgiana said, a little surprised by how quickly he cut straight to the point.

"…" Alibaba still couldn't bring himself to look at them. "I… couldn't say anything at all… Ahbmad didn't even see me… as a human at all…" He squeezed his hands together tighter. "I did what I could… but the results are still the same…"

"…" Morgiana and Faith didn't know what to say. Hope and Aladdin exchanged a knowing glance.

"That's not true, Alibaba. You can hear it, too, right?" Aladdin said kindly, referring to the noise of the anxious and excited crowd. "Just daring to face the king for negotiations, has moved the people this much."

"That's right. The evidence is right outside," Hope added calmly. "It's hard to take that first step. Sometimes it's the hardest thing there is, especially when you know there's high chance of rejection. But you did it. You did what no one else had the courage to do for themselves. Even if you didn't accomplish everything you set out to do today, you've still set an important precedence. Even if it's still one-sided at the moment, you've opened up a peaceful line of communication. And even if the king won't recognize you, there may be some individuals in other positions of power who will. This kind of political change doesn't just happen over night. It may creep and crawl in the beginning, but the important thing is to keep moving. This is not the end, Alibaba. It's just the beginning."

"That's right_!_!" Faith said, jumping onboard. "So why not just try hard again? Quit moping around! Stop lying to yourself and give it another shot!"

"See, Alibaba? The things you've done aren't for nothing," Aladdin reassured him with a smile. "Do you still think you didn't change anything today?"

Alibaba stared at his friends for a moment, stunned by their unwavering support. Then he gave them a grateful smile. "… Thank you."

"But… what do we do next?" Morgiana asked. "I believe we'll have to break the news to the Fog Troupe and the people outside…"

"But… the negotiations failed," Alibaba said anxiously, lowering his head again to cradle it in his hands. How was he supposed to tell them that after getting everyone so excited? "I don't really know how to start…"

"True…" Aladdin said quietly.

"Hmmm…" Alibaba groaned, wracking his brain for an answer. His friends weren't sure what to tell him. They all knew his words had to be chosen carefully.

"… Whatever you do, don't lie," Hope advised him. "It's better if they hear it straight from you."

Someone knocked on the door and opened it. The five friends looked up to see Ja'far standing in the open doorway. Masrur was behind him, but he was too tall for them to see his face through it. "Please follow me," Ja'far said. "Sin said we're going to announce the outcome of today's negotiations to the members of the Fog Troupe."

"_!_?" Alibaba gasped, startled that he would have to face the crowd so soon.

The twins, Aladdin, and Morgiana found what they deemed to be a relatively safe place to watch from the side while Sinbad and Alibaba got into position to use a pile of rubble against the side of the lighthouse as an impromptu platform to speak from. "Please step forward, leader," Ja'far told Alibaba, helping him up so he could stand beside the King of Sindria.

Alibaba was already sweating bullets, and he felt like his heart was in his throat. It was harder to focus on the encouragement his friends had given him now that he was in front of the crowd. He didn't know how he was going to face everyone.

Sinbad waited patiently for Alibaba to take his place next to him and waited for a moment to see if the prince would speak. When it appeared that Alibaba wasn't up to the task, Sinbad took it upon himself. He stood straight and proud while he addressed the crowd. "Everyone, let me say this straight," Sinbad said, speaking loud and clear so they could all hear. "The negotiations today failed."

"_!_!" A large, collective gasp of dismay was heard from the crowd.

"The opposite party has completely rejected our offer," Sinbad continued. "This means that we are now unquestionably in conflict with the military."

The members of the Fog Troupe began muttering anxiously among themselves. There was a heavy air of defeat. "Is… that so… It's over…" one of the men said solemnly.

"What do you mean by 'it's over'?" Sinbad asked calmly. "To begin with, for what reasons did you decide to fight for? To escape from poverty. To feed your family. Or you may not even have such a noble reason at all." He could see his words were having an effect on his audience. "However, for all your reasons, after all those acts of theft, for the first time today, you've had a negotiation with the king face-to-face. You guys… towards the people who mistreat you… for the first time, today, finally! Haven't you protested from a dignified position_!_!_?"_ he finished strongly, forming a fist with his hand. "Remember the reasons for your actions! Don't forget it! Is there still anyone down there… thinking that it's the end today_!_?" In the place of those despondent and downtrodden looks on their faces from before, he saw only determination and grit. "Good," Sinbad said, nodding his head in approval. "If that is so, I'll lend you all my strength. I'll defeat whoever they send, and if you're chased out of this country, I'll accept you as my citizens!" he declared, ready to match their resolve.

"Sin… if we admit any more refugees, Sindria is going to suffer an economic crisis!" Ja'far whispered anxiously in his king's ear.

"Hahaha, I'll take care of those things!" Sinbad responded confidently before continuing his speech. "The world filled with many injustices. I'll welcome anyone who will stand up against them. After all, admitting those who suffer from such, that's the reason why my country was built."

Alibaba, Aladdin, Morgiana, and the twins all stared up at him in awe.

"_Damn_," Faith said, feeling hella impressed.

"How amazing," Aladdin said.

"Yeah, so that's a king…" Alibaba remarked, full of admiration. "Aladdin, you've made an extraordinary friend!"

"…" Hope felt that Sinbad was an incredible speaker with a lot of charisma, and she thought his country sounded a little like America, based on its policy of acceptance of those facing persecution elsewhere. She decided that if it really did come down to him having to take in Balbadd's citizens as refugees, then she would use her knowledge from her world to help in whatever way she could to avoid the consequences that she had faintly heard Ja'far mention.

They were all blissfully unaware of the danger that stalked them from above. Judar smirked as he looked down on the cheering crowd that had gathered around Sinbad. "Ah-ha, so this is where that 'Stupid King' ran to?" he mused aloud. A wicked grin stretched across his face. "Let me join in the fun, too~"


	47. Chapter 47

Author's note: I've been writing so that each of my chapters equals one chapter from the manga, but I decided to combine two of them together for this one. Please let me know what kind of chapter you prefer—longer or shorter?

* * *

**Previously:**

_"Damn," Faith said, feeling hella impressed._

_"How amazing," Aladdin said._

_"Yeah, so that's a king…" Alibaba remarked, full of admiration. "Aladdin, you've made an extraordinary friend!"_

_"…" Hope felt that Sinbad was an incredible speaker with a lot of charisma, and she thought his country sounded a little like America, based on its policy of acceptance of those facing persecution elsewhere. She decided that if it really did come down to him having to take in Balbadd's citizens as refugees, then she would use her knowledge from her world to help in whatever way she could to avoid the consequences that she had faintly heard Ja'far mention._

_They were all blissfully unaware of the danger that stalked them from above. Judar smirked as he looked down on the cheering crowd that had gathered around Sinbad. "Ah-ha, so this is where that 'Stupid King' ran to?" he mused aloud. A wicked grin stretched across his face. "Let me join in the fun, too~"_

* * *

**Chapter 47: His Name Is Judar**

* * *

"It appears… this guy known as Sinbad is a gentleman, too," S Nando said, smiling while he stroked his beard. "I admire him."

"But, Nii-chan, what should we do now?" L Nando asked anxiously. "We've stolen from him before." M Nando was also worried about that.

"Don't worry," S Nando told them. "He was sleeping like a log that time. He didn't see us."

"I see!" L Nando said, relieved.

"_?_?" Hope placed a hand over her chest, wondering why she was suddenly filled with a sense of unease.

"What's the matter, Hope? Heartburn?" Faith asked, wondering why her sister was wearing such an odd expression after that uplifting speech.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's something else…" Hope replied, sweat-dropping.

"Hm?" M Nando said, looking up when he also sensed something was amiss. "Hey, Onii-san, what's that?" he asked S Nando, pointing up at a figure in the sky through a large hole in the roof.

Judar smirked and crossed his arms, standing proudly on his magic carpet. "Hey! Sinbad_!_!_!"_ he shouted, making the older man flinch in shock.

"!" Sinbad gasped as his head snapped up to look at the evil magi, startled. _Judar!_? _Did he follow us here…!_? he wondered anxiously. If that guy was here, then everyone present was in danger!

"Hey, Stupid King!" Judar greeted Sinbad with a mock salute when he jumped down from his magic carpet through the hole in the roof. "What are you doing here?" he asked, walking over to face him.

"Who's that guy?" one of the troupe members asked.

"…" Aladdin and Hope stared at the intruder, surprised.

_He's… that person from earlier today…_ Aladdin thought.

"… Shouldn't that jump have broken his legs?" Faith asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Yes… but you've also leaped from a second story window without hurting yourself before. And more importantly..." Hope said, furrowing her brow, too. "There's something very off about that guy… He gives me a bad feeling. We need to be careful."

"Yeah…" Faith agreed. She thought Judar was pretty hot, but his attitude and the way he carried himself reminded her of one of her asshole exes, so he was probably an asshole, too.

"Judar," Sinbad said grimly, "were you sent under Ahbmad's orders? Or did the Kou Empire send you?"

"… Huh?" Judar said, stopping in his tracks. "No, no! It's nothing like that!" he said, suddenly beaming a smile at the king. "To tell you the truth, those things don't matter to me at all!"

"What do you plan to do with this country?" Sinbad demanded sternly, knowing better than to lower his guard.

"… Who knows?" Judar said with a shrug. "I don't have a single bit of interest in all those things about the economy that the old man talks about…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sinbad, you should know, right? What I truly like…" he raised his head to look at the king, wearing a devious smile, "… is war!"

"Psycho alert~" Faith sang quietly behind her hand in Hope's ear so that only her sister could hear.

"The Kou Empire is strong!" Judar said excitedly, clenching his fist. "Having countless soldiers, dungeon capturers as generals, and even dungeon monsters as part of the army! Aren't they awesome_!_?"

"You…!" Sinbad said lowly, narrowing his eyes in distaste to glare at him with disapproval.

"…" Hope could see that they obviously knew each other. Sinbad seemed to dislike him a lot, which made her wonder what had happened between them.

"… Ja'far, do you know him?" Aladdin asked.

"Yeah, who is that guy? 'Cause he sounds like a whole can of nuts," Faith remarked.

"He is Judar, and he has a long history of accumulated hatred with us…" Ja'far replied. "What's more, Aladdin… he's the same as you, a 'magi.'"

"_!_?" Aladdin and the twins were startled.

"Magi_!_?" Aladdin and Faith exclaimed, whipping their heads around to stare at the aggressive teen in black.

_I've got a bad feeling about this…_ Hope thought with a bead of sweat sliding down her face.

"Oh! You shouldn't misunderstand!" Judar said, continuing his conversation with Sinbad. "The one I want to work together with the most is you, Sinbad! I just can't _stand_ the emperor of the Kou Empire~" He smirked and held a hand out to the king. "That's why you should cut it out and partner up with me in attaining world domination!"

"I have repeated myself many times already. I won't be your puppet," Sinbad replied coldly.

"…" Judar withdrew his hand and finally turned his attention to the rest of them. "Then again, who are all these people? Gathering in droves…" he fell silent when his eyes landed on Aladdin.

"!" Both magis were surprised when their eyes met.

"… Hm? Who's this guy?" Judar asked. "Hey, Sinbad… the rukh around this guy is weird," he said, pointing at Aladdin with his thumb. "Who is he exactly?"

_Oh no…_ Sinbad thought, concerned for the younger boy's safety. _But it's not like I can conceal it from him…_ "… He's the same as you, a magi," he answered carefully, waiting to see how his enemy would react.

"… What—_!_!_?_" Judar shouted incredulously in a slightly delayed reaction. "This midget is a 'magi'_!_? No way~~_!_?" he said, leaning down for a moment to invade Aladdin's personal space in order to have a closer look. "Magi are supposed to be amazing beings! When rukh was sent out to change the world, they're considered the strongest magic users with the largest amount of magoi in creation of the world. That's 'magi'_!_!" he ranted, pointing at his chest. "How can you tell me to accept the fact that there are magi other than myself_!_?"

"… It's precisely because he is a magi that you even responded to him," Sinbad said with his arms crossed.

"…" Judar stared at the idiot king for a moment before turning back to face Aladdin again with a friendly smile on his face. "Hello, midget! I'm Judar, and you are?"

_Uh-oh,_ the twins thought, easily recognizing a happy bitch façade when they saw one.

"I… I'm Aladdin," Aladdin replied a little nervously.

Judar held out his hand, still smiling. "So you're Aladdin. As fellow magi, let's get along well from now on!"

"…" Aladdin hesitated for a moment when he noticed how on edge the rukh around the twins were, but reached out to accept the older magi's hand.

"_!_?" the twins gasped as they reached out to support him along with Alibaba and Morgiana, outraged when Judar's outstretch hand suddenly clenched into a fist and punched him instead. They had been expecting a harsh hand squeeze or a bitchy insult, but a punch to the face_!_?

"!" Aladdin gasped in pain, staggering backwards while he clutched his eye.

Hope and Faith glared Judar. _Shit was on, now._

"Hey, Hey~ Are you saying that this slow guy is the same as me, a 'magi'?" Judar said mockingly. "Sinbad, don't tell me you've decided to abandon me… to work together with that guy…?"

"He has nothing to do with that!" Sinbad shouted angrily, anxious not to get the younger magi and his friends caught up in a dispute with someone so dangerous. "We just happened to meet in this country."

"…" Judar stared at him. He seemed to be telling the truth. "Then that's fine, but~~ Hey, midget, if you really are a magi, you should have a candidate to be king by your side, right? There should be one or two. Come on, midget! Call out your candidates!"

Alibaba glared at Judar. Hope was rather furious herself, but she kept a firm grip on Faith's shoulder to keep her from charging at the enemy, because Sinbad and the others seemed extremely wary of him, and she knew that couldn't be a good sign. Hope didn't want her sister to get hurt, too. Faith was grinding her teeth, too angry to even speak.

_Candidate to be king…_ Aladdin thought, remembering the time Paimon asked him if he had chosen one before. He set his face with grim determination and stared back at Judar without answering. He wasn't about to let this other magi know about Alibaba. This guy seemed dangerous. Who knew what he would do to him?

"Hey, are you ignoring me?" Judar asked. He sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Whatever~ I'll just find him by myself…"

It didn't look like anything had changed from the others' perspective, but when Judar opened his eyes again, instead of the physical forms of those around him, he saw only their energy signatures. He scanned the entire crowd, starting with Sinbad's side, until he found what he was looking for. Two eight-pointed star seals. "…" Judar started walking towards them. "I've. Found. You!" he said, holding out both hands to point at Alibaba and Hope.

"!" Aladdin gasped in alarm. _Alibaba…! Hope…!_ He hadn't been as worried about Hope, because technically he hadn't chosen her, but he had never expected Judar to find either one of them so easily.

Hope frowned at the older magi, and Alibaba furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Heh~ You two are twins, right?" Judar asked her with a smirk, glancing briefly at Faith. "You know, I've heard the Empire's looking for a twin with a metal vessel…"

"!" Sinbad, Alibaba, and Aladdin tensed.

_That's right…_ _I almost forgot, but those two mentioned something about being on the run the other night!_ Sinbad thought warily, thinking back to the conversation he had eavesdropped on.

"No, we're triplets. We just leave the ugly one at home," Faith said with a straight face.

"…" Judar stared at her for moment, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha! That's a good one_!_! But seriously… I've seen the wanted posters, and your faces look a lot like them!"

"Yes, we get that a lot. I've seen those wanted posters, too," Hope responded coolly. "But aren't those girls supposed to have ginger hair?"

"Ha, I guess that's true!" Judar said with a laugh, flicking her brown bangs. "Yeah, the hair color's all wrong. And there's no way they'd bother with someone lame enough to be picked by this midget!" Then his eyes fell on Aliababa. "Hm? I seem to remember you. You're that guy… that was bullied by Ahbmad earlier today!"

"!" Alibaba said, taken aback.

Judar laughed again. "Pfftt… You looked so horrible then~! I saw you scream at the top of your lungs, but you were treated like nothing… and you even cried in the end when you were called a maggot~! Hahaha!" Alibaba clenched his fists, unable to say anything in his own defense. The twins' glare at the magi hardened. "Really… You're such a useless guy…" he said, laughing even harder at Alibaba's humiliation.

"Shut up_!_!" Faith growled.

"Don't you dare laugh at him!" Hope said in a dangerously low voice.

"Heh~ Why shouldn't I?" Judar asked challengingly. "It's true, after all. That pathetic guy couldn't do a thing! He's completely useless!"

"He's not useless_!_!_!_" Aladdin yelled angrily, standing up to defend his friend.

"… Huh?" Judar said, looking at him.

"Alibaba is not useless! Because I know it_!_!" Aladdin said sternly. "He knew right from the beginning that he might not be recognized. But for the sake of others, he put aside his fears to do something that no one else has dared to do. He is a brave person_!_! There's no way he's useless_!_!"

"Aladdin…" Alibaba said, feeling extremely touched to be defended to such an extent.

"… Midget, is this guy really a candidate for king that's worth such high hopes?" Judar asked skeptically. "Hmph… I… don't see it… at all_!_!" he said, pulling a wand out from the scarf around his neck to fire a burst of energy straight at Alibaba. Everyone's eyes widened in shock as he was thrown back by the force of the sudden attack. Aladdin froze, too stunned to react.

"Ugh_!_!" Alibaba grunted in pain, wrapping his arms around his stomach. It felt like he had been slammed in the abdomen by a battering ram!

"Ali—!" Hope started to cry out in concern, turning to check on him. Her eyes widened when she was hit hard in the side by a strong force and sent sliding into the dirt.

"!" Morgiana, who had already been on the move to help Alibaba, looked up in alarm and managed to catch her before she hit a pile of rubble. She set Hope down beside Alibaba.

Judar laughed. "I guess she isn't much better! Look! They're way too weak!"

Sinbad looked at the fallen king candidates. Alibaba was curled up in pain, and it looked like he was having a little trouble breathing. The king's eyes widened in alarm when Hope coughed, and he saw blood on her lips. She must have been hit in a bad spot. "Judar_!_!" He shouted, glaring furiously at the magi.

"Sinbad_!_! Why did you mingle with these boring people_!_?" Judar asked. "Did you get even stupi—_!_?" he gasped in surprise when suddenly, before anyone could even blink, Faith lunged at him without warning and delivered a powerful punch.

BZZZ. BZZZ. There was a wild, merciless look in her wide eyes as she gripped the strange force field that had popped up between her and her target to stop her attack and delivered another blow, pushing even harder, making it crackle with energy. To Judar and Sinbad's shock, it cracked.

_Pierce through…!_!_!_ Faith thought, pushing her fist harder, willing it to breakthrough and hit the bastard who just hurt her sister. Her fist didn't make it through, but something else did. Everyone was surprised when a black light formed around her fist and shot through the cracks to scrape Judar on the side of his face. His eyes widened in shock before narrowing in rage, and he quickly flicked his wand at her to send her flying back with another attack into the same rubble that her sister had been fortunate enough to miss.

"Faith-san_!_!" Morgiana cried out in alarm.

_Did… she just use strength magic…!_? Sinbad wondered, stunned by the achievement. She hadn't succeeded in completely breaking it, but for her to have actually managed to crack a magi's borg enough to be able to project a small amount of highly concentrated force through it was incredible!

"Faith_!_!" Hope yelled, struggling to get up to get to her sister. She winced and hissed in pain.

"Don't try to move! I think your rib is broken," Morgiana said urgently after kneeling down to check on her, holding her shoulders to keep her down.

Ja'far and Masrur hurried over to check on Faith when she showed no signs of responding to their calls. "It's all right! She's alive!" Ja'far said. She was out cold, and bleeding from a cut on her head. The arm she had landed on was broken. But the cut didn't look too serious, and her breathing was still steady.

"Whoa~ haha! That surprised me for a moment," Judar said, quickly absorbing more rukh to repair the _slight _damage done to his borg. "But there's no way I'm gonna be beaten by such a weak attack!" He would never admit it, but that girl had been a little scary. But he figured it had to have been a fluke. She only managed to get through because he was caught off-guard. It wouldn't happen again. Judar's eyes widened again when the white rukh flared up around Aladdin to an almost blinding level. The younger magi was holding his staff in front of him, ready to fight. He looked furious. "Heh, so you're going to do it?" Judar asked with a dark grin. It was about time.

Aladdin's heart thumped heavily in his chest while he stared down the older magi. _What's happening?_ he thought. _I have had this feeling ever since I saw this person… Although I didn't really understand it at first… However, I understand clearly now!_! _I have to stop this person at all cost!_!_!_

_Aladdin…!_! Morgiana thought, watching the rukh gather around his staff with wide eyes. _It's just like… when we fought…_ Beads of sweat formed on her brow from the sense of impending danger she felt.

_What is that…!_? _Magic? It looks like some kind of energy…_ Hope thought, astonished. She squinted, and realized the glowing particles looked like the glowing bird-like things that she had occasionally caught glimpses of ever since coming to this world. _Rukh…!_?

"You look eager to fight, don't you_!_? Hey_!_?" Judar leered mockingly at the younger magi.

"I don't want to fight with you," Aladdin said grimly, "but you hurt my friends. And if you intend to hurt us again, then I will stop you."

"Stop it_!_! The both of you_!_!" Sinbad yelled. If those two fought here, then innocent people would get caught in the crossfire!

Judar smirked before turning his head to look at him. "Shut up, Sinbad," he said coldly. "This is a 'fight between magi.' Normal people have no right to interfere. Anyway it's not like you can stop me. I've seen it just now… You don't have a single metal vessel on you_!_!_!_"

"Kuh_!_!" Sinbad flinched, gritting his teeth in frustration. _He's right. I can't stop him now. _He glanced at the unconscious faith out the corner of his eye._ But maybe… _"Masrur_!_!"

"Understood," Masrur said, launching himself forward without hesitation. He spun around using his momentum and delivered a devastatingly powerful kick.

BZZZ. BZZZ. BZZZ. Judar smirked when it was blocked by his borg. It crackled with energy again as Masrur tried to apply more pressure.

"…!" Masrur grit his teeth and had to retreat when he couldn't break through. He couldn't even make a crack in it. They needed magic. "As I thought…" he said, returning to his king's side. "We can't use our household vessels now."

"Damn it_!_!" Sinbad cursed. Why did he have to lose his metal vessels_!_?

"Ok then, let's start, midget magi." Judar said, twirling his wand in the air. "First… let's begin with a competition of firing magoi!"

"Firing magoi_!_?" Morgiana and Hope said, startled. Hope furrowed her brow with concern. She watched anxiously while Judar raised his wand and rukh started gathering round it to form a ball of glowing energy like the one around Aladdin's staff.

"_!_?" Aladdin gasped when he saw how large it was and quickly increased the size of the amount of magoi around his own.

"All right, let's go_!_!_!"_ Judar said with an excited grin. He raised his wand higher, but instead of firing the whole burst off at Aladdin, he ordered his magoi to shoot out in all directions like laser beams.

BANG! BANG! BANG! The magoi exploded everywhere it touched upon impact. "Uwaah_!_!_?"_ the troupe members cried out in fear and alarm while they did their best to dodge. "What are these_!_?"

"Faith_!_!" Hope screamed when one of the beams headed for her sister. There were no words to describe how relieved she was when Masrur quickly scooped her sister's body up and carried her to safety before it could hit her.

"Hahaha, become full of holes!" Judar laughed gleefully, enjoying the panicked expressions on their faces and the chaos he had created.

WHOOOM! "!" Aladdin gasped when several beams came at him and the rest of his friends. His eyes widened, and his rukh glowed brighter as the beams fizzled out harmlessly when they hit his ball of magoi.

"Aladdin_!_?" Morgiana said, still holding onto Alibaba and Hope, while the three of them watched with wide eyes.

"Ah?" Judar said, a little surprised. He furrowed his brow slightly in confusion. He hadn't been expecting that.

Aladdin drew back his staff and flung all of his magoi forth at his enemy.

"_!_?" Judar gasped when the huge ball of energy came flying at him. His eyes widened in shock as it hit his borg. He was lifted off the ground and his hair was blown back by the impact while he watched his magoi and Aladdin's cancel each other out. "…" Judar was shocked. "… What…" he said, looking down at his hands while he tried to figure out what had just happened. "I've got it." He lifted his head to look at Aladdin again. "Hey, midget! Let's stop this! Competing with firing magoi is completely meaningless. Since we're magi with the protection of the rukh… the magoi will only be nullified."

_Nullified…_ Aladdin thought with a bead of sweat sliding down his face while he recalled how Judar's beams had fizzled out on their own when they came in contact with his magoi. Was that what happened?

"Since that's so…" Judar held his wand out in front of him. "Let's have a _magic_ battle."

"Magic_!_?" Morgiana and Alibaba said, taken aback.

"Weren't they already using magic just now_!_?" Hope asked with a frown. Many of the other troupe members were muttering something along the same line.

"Tsk," Judar clicked his tongue in annoyance at their ignorance. "Ah~ You bunch don't understand at all! This is why I hate amateurs," he said with a sigh before smiling and glancing at Sinbad. "Isn't that right? Sinbad!"

"Hmph_!_!" Sinbad glared at him in response.

"Hehe… That's right…" Judar said. That was a great look on the stupid king's face! "Let me show you amateurs!" He raised his wand high over his head and started gathering rukh again. "Magoi is… created from rukh… It's pure power. The power of just concentrating magoi and firing is not that strong either. The most it could do is break a few things like before…" he explained. "However, what if I gave an order… to the rukh that produce magoi…?" Judar looked at the magoi forming on his wand and willed it to change form.

Everyone watched in amazement as the rukh and the magoi it was forming turned yellow and began to hum and buzz with energy. BZZZ. BZZZ. BUZZ. Streaks of light zigged and zagged across the surface.

_The magoi is behaving like electricity…!_? Hope thought, eyes widening in surprise.

Judar grinned as the electric arcs grew bigger, brighter, and bolder. "It's just as you see!" he declared proudly. "This lightning magic is now complete_!_!"

"_!_?" Aladdin and his three friends gasped in astonishment.

"Lightning magic…_!_!_?_" Aladdin exclaimed, looking startled.

"Aladdin!" Sinbad shouted over the noise of the crackling lightning. "Just to confirm, do you know magic?"

"I don't," Aladdin replied honestly. This was his first time encountering someone who could use it.

"Just as I thought…" Sinbad said with regret, wishing he had been wrong. "Rukh causes all the world's natural phenomenon by using the energy it produces. In other words, it is the energy the rukh produce… that causes storms, fire, and lightning in nature… And now… Judar is using the energy of the rukh produce to create lighting_!_!"

Hope's eyes widened in fear. How were they supposed to counter something like that_!_? Aladdin and Morgiana could probably get away, but Hope didn't know if she and Alibaba would be able to dodge in time. It hurt just to breathe.

"When are you going to stop talking…" Judar muttered, annoyed. "Here I go_!_!" he shouted at Aladdin, sending the lightning crashing toward him.

"Aladdin! Evade that_!_!" Sinbad shouted anxiously.

But Aladdin stood his ground. His friends were right behind him, and he knew they would never able to move in time. He quickly gathered more magoi and tried to use it to block the magic attack.

"_!_!_?"_ Aladdin gasped in shock, eyes wide with fear when the lightning easily shot through his magoi.

_Just as I expected… the current Aladdin can't handle that move!_ Sinbad thought, horrified and afraid for the young boy's life. "Aladdin_!_!_!"_

_CRRRSSSHHHH!_!_!_ The lightning crashed into the very spot where Aladdin stood in an explosion of sizzling electric energy.

"Hey, hey… Did you turn into ash after that one move?" Judar said mockingly, as the dust and electricity started to clear, and he could see the edge of a crater in the dirt. "_!_?" he gasped, shocked when he saw that not only was Aladdin still standing, but he had been shielded by a huge djinn whose head was stuck inside a flute. Some lingering electric shocks arced around its rippling blue muscles.

_This is… 'magic'!_! Aladdin thought, panting. He was a little roughed up, but still relatively unharmed thanks to Ugo.

"…" Judar narrowed his eyes dangerously at the younger magi.


	48. Chapter 48

**Previously:**

"_!_!_?"_ Aladdin gasped in shock, eyes wide with fear when the lightning easily shot through his magoi.

_Just as I expected… the current Aladdin can't handle that move!_ Sinbad thought, horrified and afraid for the young boy's life. "Aladdin_!_!_!"_

_CRRRSSSHHHH!_!_!_ The lightning crashed into the very spot where Aladdin stood in an explosion of sizzling electric energy.

"Hey, hey… Did you turn into ash after that one move?" Judar said mockingly, as the dust and electricity started to clear, and he could see the edge of a crater in the dirt. "_!_?" he gasped, shocked when he saw that not only was Aladdin still standing, but he had been shielded by a huge djinn whose head was stuck inside a flute. Some lingering electric shocks arced around its rippling blue muscles.

_This is… 'magic'!_! Aladdin thought, panting. He was a little roughed up, but still relatively unharmed thanks to Ugo.

"…" Judar narrowed his eyes dangerously at the younger magi.

* * *

**Chapter 48: A New Visitor**

* * *

The SML siblings were stunned by what they saw when Aladdin summoned Ugo during his standoff with Judar.

"Brother! That's!" M Nando exclaimed in shock, pointing at the massive blue being. It was the same one responsible for destroying their hideout!

"Yeah… It's the giant from that time… Why did it appear again?" S Nando asked nervously, sweating bullets. He didn't realize it was because Ugo was a djinn who lived in Aladdin's flute. "However, that giant is not weak. What will happen if it competes with that brat_!_?"

_Here it is… Aladdin's djinn!_ _As I thought, he had to materialize it,_ Sinbad thought, furrowing his brow and clenching his jaw with concern while a bead of nervous sweat slid down the side of his face. _Normally, the way to use a djinn's metal vessel is to wear the powers of the djinn residing in it to fight. However, the relationship of Aladdin as a magi and the djinn is fundamentally different from others. This is my first time seeing it, too… How will he fight with it!_?

"Hmm, Midget, you've got something interesting there…" Judar said. "A huge djinn body… that's something only us magi can bring out." He smirked. "Very well… I'll recognize it, that you're a magi." Judar took a step forward and raised his wand again to gather more rukh.

From over the sea, streaks of fog came streaming through the town, unnerving the crowd of ordinary citizens waiting outside the Fog Troupe's hideout, and startling the troupe members inside when it flew past them, swirling into a ball around Judar's wand.

"Balbadd is a fog town. I can order the rukh to gather as much water from the air as I want," He said, while a giant mass of water formed over his wand. He tightened his grip on it. "And… order it again…" He narrowed his eyes and concentrated on changing the water's form.

Aladdin, Hope, Alibaba, and Morgiana watched with wide eyes as the body of water froze into a solid hunk of sharp ice while Judar rose up into the air with it.

"My specialty is ice magic_!_!" Judar declared with a grin, enjoying the shocked expressions on the faces of everyone below him.

"Nii-chan! That looks like a huge ice spear…!" L Nando cried.

"You idiot… before that… Why is he flying?" S Nando said nervously, pale with shock.

_Floating magic that manipulates gravity… Judar… He can use this many types of magic at the same time… What a guy!_ Sinbad thought anxiously, furrowing his brow.

"Hehe~" Judar laughed. "How's this_!_? Isn't it amazing, Sinbad! I had a hard time learning this! But it's still tough for me to do with long distances," he bragged. He noticed the wary look on the king's face. "Oh… still too early for you to be surprised… My special move starts now…" He moved his wand to begin.

CRRRRK. SHHHNG. SHHHNG. Everyone watched with wide eyes while cracks formed in the ice and slivers of spear-like shards peeled off from the main body of ice.

Cold sweat dripped down the back of Hope's neck as she stared up at them. She knew what was coming next. "R… Run_!_!_!"_ she yelled as Judar shouted,

"Take this_!_!" Thalg Al-Salos_!_!_!"_

The troupe members cried out in fear and alarm when Hope's prediction came true, and they scrambled to follow her advice as the deadly ice spears rained down upon them. Many of them were just barely able to dodge in time. "Run_!_!_!"_ many of them echoed Hope's cry. "What are these_!_!_?_" cried others.

"Whoa!" One man cried when a spear pierced the wall beside him. "_!_!_?"_ he gasped when ice began to spread out across the wall from where it hit.

The same thing was happening everywhere else the spears landed. "Wha-What_!_?" the thieves yelled, shocked. "It freezes where it pierced_!_?"

"Ugo-kun_!_!" Aladdin shouted when a particularly large shard came their way. Ugo immediately formed a fist and struck the ice spear, breaking it before it could hit.

"Hmm, good going there_!_!" Judar said with a smirk. "But I still have many spears left_!_!" He watched their eyes widened in horror when he peeled more ice spears to throw at them. "How about this_!_!" He shouted, unleashing the second wave of his attack. This time, he focused on the other magi and his djinn.

"Ugo-kun_!_!" Aladdin said urgently. Ugo dodged everything that was thrown at him and lunged forth to take a great leap into the air. He raised his hand and aimed at their enemy with the speed and poise of an Olympic volleyball player preparing to make a hard spike.

For the first time since the fight began, Judar's eyes widened in fear.

_SLAP!_! BZZZ. BZZZ. Ugo struck with such immense force that it warped the magi's borg and made it crackle dangerously.

_"Uooooooo!_?" Judar screamed, breaking out in a cold sweat, as he was hurled toward the ground.

_CRASH!_! Judar and his borg slammed into the ground with massive crack like thunder striking a mountain. Many of those watching had to shield their eyes from the dust and debris raised by the impact. If Faith was conscious she probably would have shouted something like _"Served!_!_"_

"_!_!_!"_ Sinbad and Ja'far exclaimed in shock while the troupe members cried out in disarray.

"So this is a fight between magi…!" Ja'far said. "How terrifying…!"

"…" Sweat slid down the side of Sinbad's face while he analyzed the situation again. _It's certain that both sides are strong. Aladdin isn't inferior to him. But…_

"Haha! He's strong…" Judar said with a grin as the dust cleared, only slightly scuffed up after the incredible attack, thanks to his borg. He stood up and dusted himself off. "But don't think that you've won with this! I still have ice left." He raised his wand again.

Aladdin followed it with his eyes and gasped when he saw where it was pointed. The rest of the ice hovering over him and Ugo!

With a vicious grin and flick of his wrist, Judar made more ice spears and pulled them down at the younger magi.

Aladdin's eyes widened in horror when Ugo threw himself between him and the spears, absorbing the entire attack with his back. "Ugo-kun_!_!_!"_

"_!_!_!_" Hope, Alibaba, and Morgiana shouted, horrified by the damage done to their giant friend. Their eyes widened in terror, fearing for his life, when the mighty djinn fell to his knees. The ice spears had pierced his body deeply.

_Ugo… Ugo-kun is in trouble…!_ Aladdin thought anxiously, desperate to help his friend. He scrambled up the djinn's giant body as quickly as he could to get to the flute over his head. _I have to give him more power…_ Aladdin took a deep breath and blew out until he was red in the face, giving Ugo as much magoi as he could muster. The flesh on Ugo's back twitched and expelled the shards, sending them shooting back out. Ugo stood up again.

"Ugo-kun…! Ugo-kun…!" Aladdin said anxiously. Was his friend okay_!_? Was it all right for him to move like that_!_?

"…" Judar stared in amazement for a moment and smiled. "He really is strong, that guy!" This was the most fun he'd had in ages. "But it looks like my attacks were effective. Take a look," he said, pointing at the giant's back. "Magoi is leaking out from the holes!"

"… Why! Why are you doing this to us_!_?" Aladdin shouted in anger and frustration, tired of seeing his friends get hurt.

"Huh? Why… you ask…? Now that you've mentioned it… why did we fight?" Judar asked, looking up at him with an odd expression on his face. "I forgot!" he said carelessly with a shrug.

Everyone stared at him, staggered by his callous disregard for their lives, the way he acted as if this deadly fight had only been a game to him.

"Well, isn't it fine_!_?" Judar said, unperturbed. "Let's play, midget! You should understand it too since you're a magi, right?"

"…_!_?" Aladdin furrowed his brow, wondering what he was talking about.

"I've so much power that I can't even finish using it! And thanks to that, everything I did felt so freakin' boring! But it was a little fun today," Judar exclaimed with a dark grin. "That's why, play with me more, midget magi_!_!"

_… Faith definitely called it…_ Hope thought as a bead of sweat slid down the side of her face. _This guy really is a psychopath…!_!

_What's up with this person… _ Aladdin thought, disturbed. _More than that… since earlier… Ugo-kun isn't returning to the flute._ "Ugo-kun… Ugo-kun_!_?" he called anxiously, concerned for his friend. _Ugo-kun is wounded so badly…_ he thought. "That's enough," he said seriously. Ugo needed to return to his flute to heal. "Return, Ugo-kun_!_! Return to the flute_!_! Return_!_!" The djinn stayed where he was. _Ugo-kun won't return to the flute! Why!_? _This has never happened before!_! "_!_!" Aladdin gasped in alarm when Ugo lost his balance and collapsed to his knees again. "Ugo-kun_!_!"

"Aladdin_!_!" Hope cried when he was thrown from Ugo's shoulders and crashed to the ground.

Aladdin winced in pain when he landed on his back but quickly rolled over and ran back to check on the injured djinn. "Ugo-kun_!_!" he cried. _Ugo-kun won't return to the flute! Also… It's strange! Even though I'm not giving him power anymore… Ugo-kun is still moving!_! he thought, while Ugo struggled to pick himself up again.

"Hey, midget," Judar said, approaching them. "Don't tell me it's gonna end like this? Such an opportunity rarely comes around. Let's play some more_!_!" He raised his wand and formed several more balls of lightning.

"Get out of there_!_!" Hope yelled, eyes wide with fear for her friends, as Judar hurled the lightning at Aladdin and Ugo.

_WHOOM._ "Ugo-kun, Ugo-kun_!_!" Aladdin screamed, trying to get the injured djinn to move.

DNN! DNN! DNN! DNN_!_! Hope stared in awe. The lightning balls crashed into the ground mere seconds behind Morgiana after she flew over to move Aladdin out of harm's way.

"Aladdin, are you all right_!_? Get a grip_!_!" Morgiana cried.

"Mor…" Aladdin said, staring up at her with wide eyes, still shaken by the attack.

"Ooh? Midget, who's that woman?" Judar asked curiously. "She's amazingly fast…"

Despite the pain it caused her, Hope staggered to her feet when he took a step closer to them, preparing to run to their aid. "_!_!" She was surprised when someone grabbed her wrist to stop her. It was Sinbad.

"Don't_!_!" he said urgently, tightening his grip when she tried to pull away. "You don't stand a chance against him in your current condition!" Going up against Judar would be suicide. She didn't even know how to use her djinn!

"Oh?" Judar said, turning to glance at them. His eyes narrowed slightly and he shot Hope a predatory smirk. "You want to play, too?"

"_!_?" Sinbad and Hope gasped in alarm.

Before the dangerous magi could move another muscle, Alibaba drew his sword and charged straight at him with all the speed he could muster. "Over here! You crazy bastard_!_!"

Judar barely spared the other boy a glance when he let out a war cry and launched himself at his borg. BZZZ. BZZZ. "Again?" he asked boredly with his hands on his hips, watching how his borg crackled when the short sword came in contact with it. This guy must be as stupid as he was weak. "Normal attacks won't work on me…"

Alibaba tightened his grip on his sword and grit his teeth. It wasn't over yet! He focused on forming some of Amon's flames around its blade.

_WOOOSH. _"_!_?" Judar exclaimed in alarm when the flaming sword pierced his powerful borg, allowing Alibaba to push through and drive the blade toward his face.

"It got through_!_!_!"_ Ja'far shouted in disbelief, while the rest of them stared in shock.

_Is it… because he combined force with magic!_? Hope wondered, astounded. Was that why Faith's attack had worked? Because she had hit him with a combination of physical force and PK_!_? She knew Sinbad was right to stop her now. She couldn't possibly hope to do any damage to Judar without a way to produce some kind of energy attack. If she tried to help, she'd just get in the way.

Judar staggered and held a hand to his bleeding face, feeling the cut Alibaba made on his cheek. "…" He raised his head to shoot him an angry glare. "That hurt! Ahh… I forgot that… you were a dungeon capturer."

"…" Alibaba glared back while he stood his ground with his sword held out in front of him.

Judar raised his wand and let out another blast of plain magoi that threw Alibaba and all of the people behind him slamming backward against a wall. "Nobody is allowed to get in the way… I want to fight as a 'magi' to my heart's content before killing that midget!"

A shadow fell over Judar, and in the next instant Ugo lunged forward to clothesline him. The magi's borg bent inward along the length of the djinn's arm.

The attack had generated so much force that Judar actually felt part of the brunt of the powerful blow. Any normal person would have been obliterated. Everyone—Sinbad, Hope, Ja'far, Aladdin, and the rest of the troupe members—stood aghast, dumbstruck with terror at the sudden, shocking display of brutality.

Judar crashed into the far wall with so much force that, even with the protection of his borg, he could barely move. "What…_!_!" his eyes widened in fear when Ugo sprang at him again. The ground trembled when the djinn slammed the magi and his borg against it with an almighty punch. BZZZ. BZZZ. "AAAAARGH…." Judar groaned from the immense effort it took to keep his borg up to prevent being crushed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH_!_!_?" _he screamed when Ugo's strength won out and the djinn's fist pummeled him into the ground.

CRRRSSSSH_!_! Hope held up an arm and squinted to shield her eyes from the dust and debris thrown up by the deep impact. WOOSH. A wind blew through, clearing the air to reveal the crater that had been created. The rubble shifted and up came Judar from within. His borg appeared to still be intact, but he was panting heavily and had new scratches on his face and body. A little blood dripped from his nose. "…_!_?" he gasped when Ugo started charging again. Aladdin chased after him, clearly worried about the way his friend kept fighting even though he was wounded and leaking magoi. "Wa… Wait! What's with this djinn_!_?" Judar cried, holding a hand out in front of him while rushing to wipe the blood away.

CRRSH! Another punch sent Judar and his borg slamming into a wall. "Hey, midget_!_!" he said, hurrying away before Ugo could attack again, while he raised his wand to gather more rukh to form another ice spear. "That djinn is unfair_!_! Since earlier… you haven't been giving him any magoi!" He peeled it into three smaller spears and hurled them at the djinn, who stood protectively in front of Aladdin and shattered the ice spears with his giant fists. "In other words, he's using someone else's magoi to move now_!_! That djinn… that djinn is… that djinn isn't yours_!_!_!"_

"_!_?" Aladdin gasped, startled by the unexpected accusation.

Ugo braced himself as Judar sent down a shower of magoi beams, absorbing all of the damage to protect Aladdin. Then, through the cloud of dust kicked up by some stray beams, came another, larger ice spear.

Aladdin's eyes widened in horror when Judar drove it into his friend's chest, piercing the djinn all the way through his back.

"I won_!_!" Judar declared with a victorious smirk.

But Ugo raised his hands and slammed them together around the dark magi's borg, squeezing hard.

CRK. Judar's eyes widened with dread when a cracks appeared in his defense beneath the giant's powerful fingers.

_WHAAAM!_!_!_ The borg collapsed under the immense pressure, and the magi was squashed between the djinn's hands like a fly. Everyone watched in shock, almost too stunned to breath, as Ugo opened his hands to let Judar's limp body fall to the ground. There was blood on the djinn's giant blue hands, and the unconscious Judar looked like a broken rag doll.

_Ugo-kun…_ Aladdin thought, staring up at his friend. He had never seen him like this before.

"… Amazing…!" S Nando breathed in astonishment.

"…" Sinbad and Hope stared at the djinn in shock. Hope knew Ugo was strong, but she had never witnessed him attacking so relentlessly before. There had been absolutely no mercy in the djinn's movements. And she had never seen once him disregard Aladdin's instructions like that.

_What terrifying strength…!_ Sinbad thought.

THWACK! "Ugo-kun_!_?" Aladdin cried with concern when the djinn fell to one knee, slamming his fist against the ground to support himself. But only for a moment. He stood up again. "Ugo-kun_!_?"

"…_!_?" Sinbad gasped when Ugo raised his hands above his head and a red light began to form around them. _That djinn… could it be…!_!_? He's going for the kill!_!? "This is bad. Everyone run_!_!" he shouted urgently, scooping Hope up to carry over his shoulder.

"_!_?" Hope gasped in pain, getting the wind knocked out of her in his rush, as he fled with the clamoring troupe members. Masrur grabbed Faith, and Ja'far helped direct everyone to safety. "Ah!" was all she managed to get out when she tried to call out to Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana. They weren't moving! Why weren't they running_!_?

"It can't be! Ugo-kun_!_!" Aladdin exclaimed anxiously with wide eyes when he realized what was about to happen.

"…!" Alibaba gasped. _This is… what I saw before in the dungeon…!_? he thought, recognizing it as the same attack that Ugo had used on the slime monsters inside Amon's dungeon.

_That's… heat magic… and a powerful one, too…!_! Sinbad thought warily, gritting his teeth. That djiin was going to destroy Judar and anyone close to him!

Ugo squeezed his glowing hands tighter and drove them down upon Judar with frightening speed and pressure.

_BOOOOOOOM!_ The heat magic exploded out from his hands like a large bomb, shaking the ground, and sending out powerful blasts of hot air that decimated its immediate surroundings. Aladdin, Alibaba, and several remaining troupe members, were thrown into the air. Aladdin thought he was going to fall, but he was caught and held securely by a strong arm.

"Are you all right…?" his savior asked when they had landed gently on the ground.

"Morg-san…_!_!" Aladdin gasped in astonishment when he saw who it was, and how many other people she was holding. In addition to himself, she had also managed to save Alibaba and the other troupe members. "Th-Thank you. You saved me."

"How many people did you save?" Alibaba asked.

"Seven people," Morgiana replied.

"That's… a-amazing," Alibaba said, deeply impressed. He flinched when he remembered something. "What about Faith and Hope-san, and the others from the fog troupe_!_?" he asked anxiously.

"They're fine," Morgiana replied, pointing down at them from the wall they were standing on top of. "Thanks to Sinbad-san, there don't seem to be any casualties. Because of his call, everyone was able to escape quickly. But… it's already… for that person…" she said solemnly, gazing down at the djinn and the large, steaming crater he was standing in. It appeared Judar had been completely obliterated by the attack. The only thing left was a dark scorch mark where his body used to be. Ugo stood there, staring at the aftermath of the destruction he wrought. He must have released more heat from within his body, because the ice spear Judar impaled him with cracked and sublimated into vapor, leaving only a gaping wound.

"… Say, Aladdin, what happened to Ugo-kun?" Alibaba asked nervously, concern. "He seems to be moving by his own will…?"

Aladdin's was brow creased with confusion and worry. "I don't know… It's my first time something happened like this too, I…" He didn't know what to do. What was wrong with Ugo? Was he going to be all right?

Morgiana and Alibaba bowed their heads, wishing they knew what to say. They were all troubled by the djinn's bizarre behavior.

_Aladdin… Ugo…_ Hope thought, frowning with concern while she watched her friends. _What's happening to them? Did that other magi just say Ugo… wasn't Aladdin's…? What does that mean?_ She glanced over at the spot where Masrur had laid Faith down and realized Sinbad was still holding her. "Uh… thanks for the save, but… how long are you planning to hold me like this?" she asked, feeling a like a sack of potatoes with the way he had her slung over his shoulder.

"Ah!" Sinbad said. She was so light, and he was so stunned by the djinn's overwhelming defeat of Judar, that he had almost forgotten she was there. He let her down carefully to avoid aggravating her wounds, and her feet had just touched the ground when Ugo suddenly straightened up to look at the sky and flinched in shock.

Everyone else soon saw why when their attention was grabbed by a voice from above.

FLAP. "Oh my… What's that? That monster… doesn't it look like it bullied our cute Judar-chan a bit too much?"

"_!_!" Everyone gasped in surprise and alarm as they turned their heads to find its source. The owner of the voice was a young, but very impressive and imperial-looking girl in her teens. The flapping they heard was the sound of the enormous magic carpet she was standing on rustling in the wind. On the carpet with her was an older man dressed in a similar style and holding a fan who appeared to be in his twenties, and three oddly sized persons in armor whose faces where hidden behind veils. One of them was huge. Behind them, they could see the silhouettes of many more soldiers. And, to everyone's shock, one of the main three subordinates was holding a beaten and battered Judar!

"We've managed to save him by a hair's breadth," the attendant with the fan said. Bending down to examine the wounded magi.

"But he's seriously injured," the girl said. "Hey, Ka Koubun, make sure you heal him properly. It won't be a joke if he dies."

"Understood, Your Highness. He is, after all, our precious 'oracle'," he responded dutifully.

The Fog Troupe members muttered anxiously amongst themselves. "What? Those people…" one man said nervously. Who were they? What new calamity were they about to face_!_?

_Your Highness…!_? Hope thought as a bead of cold sweat slid down the side of her face. Those Chinese dynasty-styled clothes… That familiar insignia on the magic carpet… She knew exactly where these people had come from. _This can't be good…!_!

"Sin," Ja'far said, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah…" Sinbad confirmed grimly, knowing exactly what his friend and subordinate was thinking. "They're… people from the Kou Empire_!_!"

"Kou Empire_!_?" Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana gasped. More of them_!_?

_On top of that, they're using such large-scale magic tools,_ Sinbad thought. _Meaning they aren't just anybody…!_? _What kind of people are they, I wonder…_

WOOSH. Ugo took up an offensive stance and began forming more heat magic around his fists.

"What, does that monster still want to fight?" the girl from Kou said with a frown. "Then I'll be his opponent."

"Please be careful, Your Highness," Ka Koubun told her.

"It's all right, leave it to me," she said confidently, reaching up for her hairpin. "Go on and heal Judar-chan." She removed the ornament and grasped it tightly in her hands. "Spirit of Sorrow and Isolation, in the name of my magoi, and my will to grant me a greater power, I order you and your members." She raised it high above her head. "Come forth, Vinea_!_!"

"_!_!" Sinbad and Hope gasped when the hair ornament emitted a glow and shined with light. A serpent of water appeared to form out of midair and flowed around her in a spiral.

"Here I go_!_!" the Kou princess declared keenly with an eager grin on her face, excited for battle.

This rattled Sinbad and his subordinates, who immediately grasped the significance of what had just happened. "She's a djinn metal vessel user_!_!_!"_ he exclaimed, filled with trepidation. This was bad_!_!

Ugo clenched his fists and launched himself into the sky with a mighty leap at their new enemy. He still needed to destroy that black magi.

The Kou princess smirked. "I'll finish you, you monster." She was going to make him pay dearly for attacking their oracle. "_!_!" she gasped in alarm when the djinn's giant hands suddenly grabbed the water serpent. Water hissed and evaporated under his heat magic. "Heat… Heat magic…" she said, reeling back in alarm. "It would have been dangerous if I didn't have the membrane of water…" But her fear quickly turned to anger. "I've finally gathered this much water, so don't go evaporating it_!_! You wretch_!_!_!_" she yelled, furiously, furrowing her brow, as she tightened her grip on the hairpin and gathered the rest of the water around it.

"_!_?" Hope gasped in astonishment, watching with wide eyes as the water morphed around it to form an ornate sword with a winged serpent motif. But it didn't stop there. The water continued to spread up her arms, transforming them as well, covering them with blue scales. Each arm had a sharp fin.

"Wha… What's that…_!_!?" Alibaba asked, staring up at the other dungeon capturer with Aladdin, equally shocked.

Ugo prepared to attack again, but the Kou princess was ready for him this time. She grit her teeth and threw herself down at him in a spiraling motion with shocking speed. Ugo didn't stand a chance. She tore threw him like wet paper, boring a large hole straight through his chest and out his back, shredding his heart and lungs into nothing.

"_!_!_!"_ Aladdin and Hope stared at the gaping wound in horror.

"Ugo-kun_!_!_!_!" Aladdin screamed as his friend fell.

The Kou girl landed gracefully on her feet. "Ka Koubun_!_! How was that_!_?"

"As expected from you, Your Highness," he praised her while they lowered the magic carpet, sending healing water out of his fan to cover Judar's wounds.

Hope watched, pale, in disbelief as Ugo's mortally wounded body finally retreated to the inside of his flute. She was worried and afraid for him. That wound would have instantly killed a human, but Ugo was a djinn. Djinns were different, right? More magical. Would that save him? Would he be all right_!_?

"How is Judar-chan's condition?" the princess asked, rejoining her minions on the magic carpet.

"I'm giving him the emergency treatment now, but we'll need standard facilities for him to make a full recovery," Ka Koubun replied as the carpet rose up into the sky again.

"Let's not waste any time then," she said, prepared to leave at once.

WOOOSH! The princess and her retainers were all startled when a volley of magoi shot past them, nearly grazing her.

"_!_?" the Kou princess gasped, narrowing her eyes as she immediately turned to face her new foe. She was surprised to find a young boy glaring at her while he stood on a cloth flying tool and brandished a glowing staff toward her in a rather threatening manner.

Aladdin glared at furiously at Ugo's murderer. Despite his shock at his friend's brutal defeat, he had wasted no time retrieving his flute so he could go after the person who hurt his friend.

_When did he…!_? Hope thought, startled and concerned about his aggressive behavior. "Aladdin, don't…_!_!" She understood how he felt, but that girl was too dangerous! She cursed her own helplessness. If only she were stronger! She wasn't so naïve as to think that even then she alone could do what her friends couldn't accomplish together, but if she had been able to fight with them, then maybe then things would've turned out differently… Maybe they could have defeated that other magi and cleared out before these people showed up. Maybe Ugo wouldn't have had to fight her on his own.

"Who are you?" the Kou princess asked Aladdin. "So repugnant… We merely saved you and your comrades from being attacked by that monster."

"You're wrong_!_!" Aladdin yelled. "Ugo-kun was fighting to protect me—to protect everyone! That guy was the one who attacked first_!_!"

"… I see…" she said, lowering the sleeve that she had raised to cover her mouth. "So… You're the master of that monster, then?" she asked, narrowing her eyes to glare back at him. In that case, it must be his fault that their oracle, that her friend was injured. "So those people down there, too… are comrades of that monster…?"

"What do you plan to do now, Your Highness?" Ka Kobun asked.

"We have no choice but to put things in order," she replied darkly, raising her hand to signal to her other followers. She would not let this stand. "Enshin, Entai, Engi, get rid of them_!_!" she ordered sternly.

"_!_?" Aladdin was startled when the three veiled people suddenly leaped toward him and tried to counter each of them with a blast of magoi, but they dodged his attacks easily and dove straight past him.

"…_!_?" the Fog Troupe members gasped in alarm when the strange trio landed on the ground before them. Up close, they seemed more animal than human. One was almost as large as the djinn had been! That one reminded Hope of an elephant, but something was off about it. For one thing, it seemed to have at least three trunks! The second tallest wasn't much better, covered all over in orange-brown fur beneath his armor. The third almost seemed normal by comparison, except for the gold and black spotted fur-covered claws that gripped the hilts of his swords.

"What… What are these guys_!_?" Alibaba said anxiously, completely taken aback. He had never seen anything like them before.

"I'll take care of this child," the Kou princess told her men. "You three will take care of the rest of those trash…"

A bead of cold sweat ran down the back of Hope's neck. She could feel their bloodlust, even from her position near the back, kneeling on the ground next to Sinbad.

"… Uwa…_!_?" some of the Fog Troupe members screamed, petrified with fear.

"Kill everyone_!_!_!"_ the Kou princess ordered mercilessly.

"Uwaaaa_!_!_!"_ Everyone in the Troupe screamed and ran for their lives when the three enemies immediately launched themselves forward to attack.

"Baoooo_!_!_!"_ the mutant elephant bellowed through its raised trunk while it charged, swinging the rest of them like whips to throw those too slow to get out of the way, trampling the rest as he went.

"Uwaaa what're these guys_!_? Help_!_!" the fleeing thieves cried desperately.

"Hi… Hii!" another whimpered in fear when he fell. He raised his arms in a vain attempt to shield himself, squeezed his eyes shut, and waited for the end to come. But it never did. He was spared the fate of their fallen comrades when Masrur rushed forth to put himself between the monster and the thieves, holding the immense being back with a single hand.

"Stop him, Masrur_!_!" Sinbad shouted. "_!_?" he gasped when he saw that Masrur was now using both hands. His feet were digging into the ground, and it was trembling and cracking under the pressure being exerted by the two opposing forces. _His strength is actually on par with Masrur…!_? he thought. _As I expected… these guys are actually…!_?

From around the second enemy with orange-brown fur came what appeared to be several smaller versions of him. Morgiana rushed forward to meet them in an attempt to protect the people behind her, but they were unlike anything she had ever faced before. She winced and grit her teeth at the painful scratches she received. _What!_? _These guys!_? _They are so fast, I can't counter!_! she thought anxiously, narrowing her eyes to glare defiantly as they forced her to the ground.

_WHOOM._ Before they could harm her any further, Ja'far threw his rope-darts to restrain them. "Morgiana_!_! There's too many of them," he said. "Let's team up to protect everyone_!_!"

"Ok_!_!" Morgiana agreed, quickly jumping back onto her feet to take up a position that would allow them to fight back to back.

Meanwhile, Alibaba had managed to cut down a few of the smaller minions that had been sent his way with his sword. "Is everyone all right? Stay behind me!"

_WOOSH!_ He was startled when another blade was thrust at him. He grit his teeth and furrowed his brow, pushing his reflexes to the extreme in order to counter the third enemy's merciless barrage of attacks.

Hope lowered her head and glared at the ground. Her hands balled into fists. Again, she found herself cursing her weakness in the moment. Her sister was wounded and unconscious. All of her friends were fighting. Everyone around her was in danger, and she could barely stand. She had never felt so disgustingly helpless and useless, not since _that_ day. It was so unbearably frustrating. I was excruciating. She clenched the dirt in her hands. The memory of what had happened then, and the fear of what could happen now, made her desperate for more strength. _I need to protect them!_! she thought anxiously. She couldn't—_wouldn't_—lose anymore of her family or friends! _What the hell am I just sitting here for!_? she scolded herself, forcing herself to stand. Her eyes landed on her ring and the eight-pointed star that had appeared on it after Ipos chose her. She was sick of watching the people she cared about get hurt. _I don't know how to summon a djinn, but… I need more strength… I need some real power… I have to protect them!_!_! _Hope raised her head with a desperate determination burning brightly in her eyes. This time, she was going to save everyone_!_!

"_!_!" Sinbad was startled when he suddenly felt a great shift in power next to him. His eyes widened when he turned his head and saw Hope standing there. Her arms were covered in gold-plated armor from below the bend in her elbow to the back of her hand. The white claws at the tips of her fingers gleamed in the moonlight. _Djinn equip…!_? he thought, astonished by the unexpected transformation. She was off like a shot before anyone could stop her.

Alibaba's eyes widened in alarm when his enemy's blade came within an inch of piercing it, but he managed to duck and block the attack at the last second.

"Ohh… Your swordsmanship isn't bad…" the enemy praised him. He raised his sword. "Let's have a—_!_!_?"_

Alibaba wasn't sure which of them was more shocked, but he found himself watching with wide eyes as Hope flew over his head from behind and threw a punch with so much force behind it, with such swift and dangerous acute accuracy, that the blade of the enemy's sword was shattered, and he was thrown several feet away from them before he could finish his sentence. The truly amazing and frightening part was, her fist hadn't even actually touched him. He had been blown away by the sheer strength of the pressure behind her attack!

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Alibaba," She said, glaring fiercely at the enemy while he tried to stop himself before he hit the far wall.

"Y… Yeah…" Alibaba said as a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. _She's… super freaking strong…!_! he thought, suddenly feeling very unnecessary. And what the hell happened to her arms_!_?

"Everyone seems happy!" the Kou princess said as she joined Aladdin on the ground for their fight. "Well, apart from Engi…" She could already hear him complaining about his broken sword over the noise of the crowd of frightened thieves. "From now on, I'll get serious too," she said, willing the water to flow again and continue spreading up her arm while she chanted the spell to give her more power. "Spirit of Sorrow and Isolation… I order you and your sacred brethren to gather around me, to attach yourselves to me…"

_What's this person…!_? _Her body is changing…!_? Aladdin thought, staring in shock as the rest of her arm, neck, and part of her face changed to look like it was covered in more blue scales and fins.

"And impose yourself, the great djinn, upon my body, Vinea_!_!" the Kou princess finished strongly. She was shocked when someone suddenly reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Stop this, young lady!" Sinbad said urgently, forcing her to lower her sword.

"What, who are you_!_!_?_" the princess demanded, outraged that he would dare to touch her, let alone interfere in her fight. "_!_?" she gasped in alarm when her transformation began to recede. "Wha… What…_!_?" _Why…!_? _My djinn equipment is disappearing…!_? She thought anxiously, startled by this strange turn of events. She collapsed onto her knees, suddenly feeling inexplicably weak.

"Young lady, you seem to be a princess of the Kou Empire…" Sinbad said, still holding her hand. She looked like she was about to fall over from the shock of having her magoi suddenly cut off by his.

"… Who–Who are… you…_!_?" she asked, lifting her head to look up at him.

"I am Sinbad," he replied calmly. "The king of Sindria, King Sinbad."

He helped her stand, but he was still much taller than her. And as he stared down at her with those powerful amber eyes, his purple hair shining in the light of the moon, the Kou princess felt something come over her, and her heart skipped a beat. "So you're… you're that famous King Sinbad?" she asked, gazing up at him in awe. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment when she realized that he was still holding her hand, and that it was the feeling of attraction that had suddenly wormed its way into her heart. "How–how long do you plan on holding me, you insolent man_!_!" she snapped crossly in an attempt to hide her feelings, yanking her hand free.

"My apologies, princess," Sinbad responded politely. "But, I had to stop you. We are both people of a high position. We shouldn't have a dispute in this kind of place."

"Bu… But… that child…!" the princess stuttered defensively with a red face, pointing at the fierce glare Aladdin was still shooting at her and the glowing magoi around his staff. As far as she was concerned, he and that monster had been the ones who started it!

"Aladdin, this matter ends here. You should withdraw you staff too," Sinbad told him. "It's all right, a djinn will not die from an attack of this degree. Your friend is still alive. Furthermore, it's also not your style to act on impulse and fight, isn't that right…?"

"…" Aladdin bit his lip and looked at his staff. Baba's staff. What would Baba say if she saw him now…? Aladdin tightened his grip on the staff and his flute as he lowered his weapon and let the magoi dissipate.

"Your Highness," Sinbad said, turning his attention back to the other dungeon capturer now that he was assured Aladdin would not continue to force the situation to escalate. She was now hiding her face behind her sleeves. "I am currently staying in this country for a reason. If the princess is the same, then I would like to meet you somewhere more appropriate."

"… I understand…" the princess said after a moment. "Everyone. We're leaving," she ordered her subordinates, still hiding her face as she turned and began to walk away.

"Eh…?" Ka Koubun said, flinching in shock. "But, Your Highness…"

"It's okay, we're done for today_!_!" she said quickly, hoping she didn't sound as flustered as she felt.

"…" Sinbad crossed his arms while he stood there to watch her leave, relieved he had been able to end things before they became even more violent.

The princess suddenly spun around and pointed at him. "It's not because you said it that I'm returning now_!_! Got it_!_?" she yelled nervously, blushing bright pink.

_It's definitely because he said it…_ Hope thought, sweat-dropping. Watched quietly as the enemies they had been fighting retreated and regrouped to fly away on their magic carpet. The opponent that she and Alibaba had faced pointed at her and made a slicing motion across his neck. He was obviously very angry about what had happened to his sword.

"… They left…" several Fog Troupe members said, staring after them with stunned relief.

"Anyway, we're saved…_!_!" one man said.

"Treat the casualties!" said another.

"…" Aladdin stayed where he was and stared at his flute. _But Ugo-kun's… Ugo-kun's star has vanished…_ he thought anxiously, feeling afraid for his friend despite Sinbad's reassurances. He readjusted his grip on the flute and focused on channeling his magoi into it. _I have to give Ugo… even more power…!_


	49. Chapter 49

Author's note: I've noticed the number of followers for this story has begun to drop, so if anyone has any suggestions or constructive criticism, I'd really appreciate it...

* * *

**Previously:**

_"…" Sinbad crossed his arms while he stood there to watch her leave, relieved he had been able to end things before they became even more violent._

_The princess suddenly spun around and pointed at him. "It's not because you said it that I'm returning now!_!_ Got it!_?" _she yelled nervously, blushing bright pink._

It's definitely because he said it… _Hope thought, sweat-dropping. Watched quietly as the enemies they had been fighting retreated and regrouped to fly away on their magic carpet. The opponent that she and Alibaba had faced pointed at her and made a slicing motion across his neck. He was obviously very angry about what had happened to his sword._

_"… They left…" several Fog Troupe members said, staring after them with stunned relief._

_"Anyway, we're saved…!_!" _one man said._

_"Treat the casualties!" said another._

_"…" Aladdin stayed where he was and stared at his flute_. But Ugo-kun's… Ugo-kun's star has vanished… _he thought anxiously, feeling afraid for his friend despite Sinbad's reassurances. He readjusted his grip on the flute and focused on channeling his magoi into it._ I have to give Ugo… even more power…!

* * *

**Chapter 49: After The Battle**

* * *

_THUD. _"Whoa_!_!" Alibaba exclaimed when Hope abruptly collapsed the second the enemy was gone. Her arms and hands returned to normal the second she hit the ground.

"!" Sinbad turned his head when he heard the commotion and quickly approached them to see what was wrong.

"Are you all right_!_?" Alibaba asked her, concerned.

"… Yes…" Hope said with a cough, chagrined. Falling on her ribs made it even harder to breathe than it already was. She also pretty sure she had managed to make the damage to her ribs worse, too. "Sorry, I guess the pain finally caught up with me… I just couldn't take it any longer…"

"Excuse me," Sinbad said as he kneeled down to examine her. She flinched when he touched her ribs. It seemed she was mostly unscathed, apart from some bruising and one fractured rib. But he was impressed that she had been able to move with such speed, especially after summoning a partial djinn equip on her first try. That was a feat even he hadn't been able to manage so quickly, though he had been four years younger than Hope at the time.

"How's everyone…? Faith?" she asked, trying to get her point across with as few words as possible, since it hurt to speak.

"Faith? Uh… Don't worry, she's all right_!_! It doesn't look like she's awake yet, but I'm sure she'll be fine…" Alibaba tried to reassure her after a quick glance around. Faith was still safe and sound right where Masrur had left her.

Hope furrowed her brow with concern upon hearing that her sister was still unconscious and tried to push herself up into a sitting position.

"Hey, wait_!_! I don't think you should move!" Alibaba said.

"He's right, one of your ribs feels broken," Sinbad told her, reaching out to brace her before she hurt herself.

"I'll live. It hurts, but it doesn't feel like anything vital's been punctured," Hope said, not giving up. Faith had broken a rib before when they were younger, so she knew there was nothing to do except to wait for it to heal on its own. "She's my sister. I need to go to her…"

Sinbad sighed. It was true that he hadn't felt any other damage, but he had only done a quick check through thick clothing. If she tried to walk over there on her own two feet, she might exacerbate her wounds.

The next thing Hope knew, she was in the arms of the king. "_!_?" She said, glancing between him and Alibaba in confusion, while he carried her over to her sister bridal-style. "I-It's all right! I can walk by myself!" she told Sinbad, starting to feel embarrassed. He smelled like a warm mixture of the sun and the sea, sandalwood, citrus, and other exotic scents and spices.

Sinbad simply gave her a polite, yet dazzling smile that sparkled in the moonlight in response and kept walking, causing Hope to sweat-drop.

_… That's a really dangerous weapon he has there… _she thought, letting her protests die in her throat, while she fought the reflexive temptation to blush, even though she knew he was just being nice. He should be more careful where and who he fired that thing at. _But… He kind of reminds me of someone…_

"…" Alibaba stared after them for a moment in surprise before shaking his head and getting up to follow. The truth was that he was also concerned about Faith.

"… Thank you," Hope said quietly when Sinbad set her down next to her sister. "Faith…?" she said, reaching out to smooth her twin's hair out of her face and check her vitals. She was still breathing, but her pulse felt weaker than normal. "Faith, please wake up… Don't do this to me," she pleaded, taking her sister's hand in hers and giving it a squeeze.

"…" Alibaba looked down and clenched his fist, wishing there was something he could do for them.

But Sinbad's eyes widened slightly in surprise when he sensed something incredible happening between the two twins. He could feel Hope's magoi moving from her body to her sister's. He reached out to stop her, but froze when he realized what was happening. Normally, when foreign magoi was suddenly introduced into the body, the native magoi's flow was disrupted. It often did more harm than good, especially when done by an amateur. But that wasn't what was happening to Faith. Instead, Faith's magoi easily absorbed her sister's, and its flow actually seemed to be getting stronger! Was it because they were twins?

Faith opened her eyes, squinting against the pale moonlight. She had a splitting headache and one of her arms hurt like a mother, but she could make out some familiar faces hovering over her. "… Hope?"

"Thank God!" Hope said, exhaling a huge sigh of relief. "Are you all right? Do you need water? Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry…" Faith said, blinking at all her sister's questions. "Did we win?"

"… They left, but… I don't think we can call this a 'win'," Hope replied grimly, casting a glance around at all the wounded and the panicked and hurried attempts to help them. She looked back at her sister with a serious expression on her face. "You have a displaced fracture. We need to set your arm."

"_!_!" Faith said, looking startled. Her whole body tensed, and she started sweating in anticipation of the expected increase in pain. This wasn't her first or second broken bone, so she knew it was going to hurt. _A lot. _"Ah, no… I'm sure I'll be fine… there must be other people who need your help mo—"

"—Ah_!_!" Hope suddenly gasped, pointing up at the sky.

"?" Faith said, wondering what her sister could be looking at, while she and Alibaba whipped their heads up in the same direction in alarm, thinking perhaps another enemy had appeared.

_CRACK._ _"F #$%&amp; #%!_!_!_!" Faith let out a shrill, strangled wail when Hope immediately snapped her bones back into place the instant she let her guard down. "The fuck was that for_!_!_?"_ she demanded angrily.

"You were too tense. I would have hurt more if I did it while you expected it, so I had to distract you," Hope explained calmly.

Alibaba and Sinbad sweat-dropped. She wasn't wrong, but the ease with which she did it was kind of brutal for someone who had seemed so kind up until then.

"Well, yeah, but…" Faith said feebly, pouting because she knew her sister was right. It was hard to argue with her staring at her like that. _Damn, she looks just like mom when she's in 'nurse' mode…_ she thought, also sweat-dropping.

"Sin!" Ja'far called, getting their attention as he hurried over to join them with Morgiana at his side.

"Morgiana! Are you all right?" Alibaba asked.

"Yes," Morgiana replied quietly with a nod. Her injuries were mild.

"We need to get the swelling down," Hope stated calmly. "Morgiana, if you aren't too hurt, could you bring us some of the left over ice from that other magi's attacks? Maybe we can distribute it amongst the people whose wounds have begun to swell."

"!" Alibaba was surprised by the request, but he thought that was a very smart idea.

"Yes, I'll be right back," Morgiana said with a nod, leaving to retrieve some without hesitation.

"That's a good idea," Sinbad said, standing up. "Ja'far, have Masrur help her. I want you to find out how many are wounded and how. We need a survey of the casualties so we can better organize our relief efforts. Alibaba, what's the situation with your medical supplies like? Can you show me where it's kept?"

"Ah! Yes!" Alibaba said, ignoring his own pain as he scrambled to get back onto his feet to take him there.

Some order was soon introduced to the chaos, and those who weren't injured worked together to distribute water, blankets, and other supplies and aid to those who were. Sinbad was among them, helping the men apply bandages.

"Hey, are you all right?" one of the men carrying water asked another.

"We need water over here, too!" another shouted.

"Sin!" Ja'far said, getting his king's attention.

"What is it, Ja'far?" Sinbad asked, looking up from his patient to show that he had it.

"There are quite a lot of wounded," Ja'far reported. "However, with such large-scale attacks… we are very lucky not to have had a single death."

"Is that so…" Sinbad said. That really was lucky, given who they had been facing. "Anyway, the most important task at hand right now is to tend to the wounded."

"Um… I brought more blankets over," Morgiana said tentatively drawing their attention to her presence. She was carrying a whole bundle of them in her arms. "Water has been distributed to everyone as well."

"Thank you. You should get some rest as well," Sinbad told her.

"No. I'm fine…" she said. "I'm going to carry those that are heavily injured to the rooms…"

Sinbad and Ja'far watched as she walked away and approached a group of wounded men to do just that.

"Morgiana is a good girl," Sinbad said with a smile. "She's both strong and kind."

"Indeed," Ja'far agreed. "She's very kind to the people around her. She's also a fast and efficient worker. Hope is also helping out. She's gone to search for ingredients to make soup for everyone." That girl was up and about as soon as she had finished treating her sister and bandaging her own injuries.

"She shouldn't be moving around with those wounds," Sinbad said with a sigh. "She's too reckless."

"You're the last person who should be saying that," Ja'far remarked, recalling all the trouble he had been through over the years thanks to his king's impulsive behavior. "Still, it's amazing that she was able to perform even a partial djinn equip so quickly in such unfavorable conditions… Where are you going?" he asked when his king stood up.

"She's become a valuable asset. I can't let her continue to wander around making her injuries worse," Sinbad replied, heading off to find her.

_… I'm so useless…_ Morgiana thought, face flushed with frustration, while she helped carry the wounded to somewhere more sheltered. _I couldn't do anything at all… Before I return to my homeland… I want to help those four out…_

"It hurts…" Alibaba hissed, unwrapping the bloodstained bandages another troupe member had hastily applied for him. He had retreated to his room to change them for fresh ones. "Damn it…" he cursed, pressing his hand against the wound. Fortunately it wasn't too deep, but it really hurt. Almost as much as their defeat. His brow creased and furrowed with frustration and guilt while he thought about everything that had happened during the previous battles, how all he could do was sit and watch while his friends were hurt by that other magi, and then that princess. _Just what am I doing…_ he thought, feeling discouraged and depressed. _I couldn't even do anything when Aladdin and the Fog Troupe were being attacked… Even though I have the power of a Metal Vessel… if I can't even fight at the critical moment, then there's no meaning to having it all…! Hope was wounded too, but at least she managed to activate hers in a way that made her useful… I'm so useless… so useless, it makes me angry…!_! he thought, cursing his own weakness. "Even though this isn't the time to be injured… I have injuries everywhere," he said aloud, turning his attention back to his body. "There are even injuries over here… Here too," he added, pulling the waist of his pants away to look further as he continued his search. "There's one here, too… Here as well…" he pulled his pants down more to check his legs, turning on his side to get a better view.

Standing outside his door with a clean washing cloth and a metal basin of fresh water in her arms, Morgiana knocked softly before entering. "Alibaba-san… how are your injuries…?" she asked, opening the door. She immediately froze in place, staring in shock at the obscene sight that awaited her within. There, on his bed, was Alibaba, bent over and staring at her upside down from between his legs. His pants were around his ankles, leaving him completely naked from the waist down. She could see _everything. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_?" Morgiana screamed, flinching in shock and horror, appalled by the scarring view she had been exposed to. Whatever she had been expecting, this was not it!

"Woooah_!_?" Alibaba screamed as he flinched in shock, completely mortified that someone had seen him in that position.

"What are you doing_!_?" she demanded incredulously, dropping the water and cloth as she raised her hands to shield her poor eyes.

"What I'm doing…? I'm just checking my wounds!" he retorted defensively. She was the one who came in without waiting for him to tell her it was okay!

"!" Hope winced and flinched in pain when she stretched too far trying to reach a bunch of dried herbs that were hanging near the ceiling. She almost fell backwards off of the beat-up old stool she was standing on when it wobbled beneath her, but instead she found herself leaning back against a broad chest, while a strong arm wrapped around her to hold her steady, and another reached up to retrieve the herbs for her. Hope knew who it was without looking, because she still remembered his scent from earlier. "Ah, thank you…" she said, suppressing the blush that was threatening to color her cheeks, feeling a little embarrassed. She found it a little troublesome that this seemed to be happening to her with increasing frequency lately.

"You should be resting," Sinbad told her, leaning down so his mouth was right next to her ear. She was doing a good job keeping up appearances, but he had heard a slight wheeze in her breathing, and he hadn't forgotten the blood he saw on her lips earlier after Judar hit her. A faint hint of jasmine and lavender clung to her skin.

"Y-Yeah… you're probably right…" she agreed wryly, seeing how she almost fell. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her neck. "But I felt like I needed to do something, and Faith said she was hungry. I figured everyone else would be too, especially Aladdin—he always eats a lot after using his flute—so I thought I could help by fixing something…" she said, feeling a little nervous, straightening up so she could step down off the stool and put a more comfortable distance between them. "Thanks for catching me," she said again.

Sinbad stared at her for a moment. Until now, his primary focus had been elsewhere, but now that she had his full attention, he could see just how much he had been missing. He had noticed the high quality of the pearls on the twins' bracelets, but now that Hope had removed her headscarf, he could see that her earlobes had been pierced twice. In addition to the more noticeable pearl earrings, there was a smaller stud of gold in each lobe as well. But even precious metals and gems seemed dull in comparison to her striking amber eyes, which glowed with a gentle warmth and bright benevolence that was hard to ignore. Stubbornness aside, she was a very charming girl. The closer he looked, the more beautiful she became. "… Just try to be more careful from now on," he said, giving her a nice smile. "You're still a girl, after all. You should take better care of yourself."

"I'm always careful when I'm doing something dangerous," Hope said lightly with an endearing, subtly rueful smile. "But I maybe I was a little too reckless this time…" she conceded as she turned away from him to continue collecting ingredients. That fight had stirred up some bad memories, so a large part of her had acted without thinking. She was lucky it worked out in the end, but attacking an armed enemy head on from the front with your bare hands was normally a pretty stupid thing to do. "Speaking of which, earlier... my arms and hands underwent some kind of transformation…" she said, furrowing her brow slightly in confusion when she thought about it, holding onto a heavy shelf to steady herself while she squatted down to pick an onion from a basket on the floor. "So did that princess'… and her hairpin turned into a sword… Was that because it was her Metal Vessel? Did we change because of our djinns?" she asked, looking up at him.

Sinbad kneeled down in front of her and looked her in the eyes. "Yes. It's called 'Djinn Equip'. I suppose you're more used to the way Aladdin fights with his djinn… but it's different for him, because he's a magi," he replied, pausing for a moment when she furrowed her brow slightly and bowed her head a little, clearly worried about the wounds her friends had received. "Normally, the way to fight using a djinn's Metal Vessel is to wear the powers of the djinn residing in it. What you did before was only a partial Djinn Equip. The user first surrounds the Metal Vessel with magoi and compresses it around it to form the Djinn's Weapon. In your case, it appears your weapon is your hands..." he explained, taking her free hand in his. He rubbed his thumb over her fair skin. It was very soft and smooth, even with the calluses that had formed on her palms from had work and fighting. Her fingers were long and delicate, but strong. He also noticed that her hand felt cool to the touch and looked even paler than usual, almost whiter than milk. _She's putting on a brave face, but it's obvious her wounds from the fight and using her Metal Vessel are taking their toll…_ he thought. There was still more he wanted to tell her, but it would be better to wait until after she'd had a chance to rest. "A full Djinn Equip is capable of much more, but we'll leave that for tomorrow," he said, giving her another smile as he helped her stand again, waiting to make sure she wouldn't lose her balance before letting go of her hand.

"?" Hope was curious and wanted to hear more, but decided to let it go, since she was tired. She had been feeling a little off ever since she used her Metal Vessel. It would be better to wait until she was more alert if she wanted to learn more. "Okay… Well, while you're here, would you mind getting some of those carrots for me?" she asked instead, pointing up at their spot on a shelf that was above her head but still within his reach.

"You're still planning on cooking?" he asked, reaching it for it.

"People are still gonna be hungry, aren't they?" she replied, adding the onion in her hand and a couple of bay leaves to the empty basket she was planning to use to carry out the ingredients.

"That's true…" Sinbad agreed wryly.

Even though she was hurt and tired, Hope didn't want to stop moving. She was afraid that once she did, all of the painful memories that had been stirred up would get to her. It was always easier for her to spiral into a down cycle when she was tired and already stressed out. So she had to keep busy until she was ready to sleep, so she wouldn't have time to overthink things and get depressed. She told herself it would be easier to stay positive once she'd had some rest, praying it wouldn't turn out to be a lie. She couldn't afford to break down here. She felt these people and her friends had enough to worry about already. And she didn't want to put that kind of burden on Faith while she was recovering from a broken arm and a head wound…

"Seriously… If it's bandaging, you just have to ask me…" Morgiana told Alibaba, once they had both had a chance to calm down, wrapping one of his arms for him. She had already finished treating the worst of his wounds.

"Injuries like these are nothing at all," Alibaba said, doing his best not to wince. "Hurry up, I need to help treat everyone else as well!"

"…" Morgiana stared quietly at him for a moment before tying the finishing knot.

"Speaking of which… How are Aladdin, Faith, and Hope?" Alibaba asked while she cleaned away the used bandages and gathered up the rest of her supplies.

"Faith-san is awake and feeling lively enough to complain now that her wounds have been treated, and the swelling in her arm has gone down…" Morgiana replied. She was fuming about Judar's attack on them and kept muttering to herself about all the ways she planned to get back at him for putting her arm in a sling.

_Yeah, I bet she is…_ he thought, sweat-dropping. That girl always bounced back annoyingly fast. He was glad she was all right, though.

"And Hope-san is working on making soup for everyone," Morgiana continued. "I saw Aladdin-san returning to his room. He looked very tired. He's probably worried about whether Ugo-san has really disappeared or not…"

"…" Alibaba was quiet for a moment while he thought about it. "I don't think that's the only thing bothering him," he said. He was sure Ugo would be all right. Sinbad had said so. "If Aladdin uses his magic excessively, his stamina will reduce drastically as well… This happened before in the 7th dungeon…"

"Is that so… This is really worrisome," Morgiana said, concerned.

Alibaba and Morgiana looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Let's go take a look," he said.

"Okay," Morgiana said, and they stepped out of his room together into the hall.

"Whoa, watch the hardware!" Faith said when they almost bumped into her, patting her splinted arm and the impromptu sling that her sister had made for her using her scarf.

"What are you doing up?" Alibaba asked.

"I got bored, so I thought I'd check on Aladdin," Faith replied, reminding herself not shrug because it would hurt. "You?"

"The same," Morgiana replied.

"Hey! This child isn't breathing!" someone shouted, immediately drawing their attention back to the crowd up ahead.

"This is bad… Is he still alive_!_?" another man asked. A terribly familiar blue-haired boy was lying unconscious on the ground, clutching a metal flute.

"…_!_!_?"_ Alibaba, Morgiana, and Faith gasped in horror when they saw the terrible condition he was in. "Aladdin_!_!_?"_ They were at his side in an instant.

"Hey, pull yourself together, Aladdin_!_!" Alibaba shouted anxiously.

"Aladdin-san_!_!?" Morgiana cried, already on the verge of tears.

"Shit_!_! CPR_!_! He needs CPR…!" Faith exclaimed nervously, freezing in her tracks when she moved to start giving him chest compressions and remembered she only had one working arm. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Hope! Hooope_!_! Someone find my sister_!_!_!"_ she screamed.

When Hope heard her sister's cries echoing down the hall, she immediately dropped what she was doing and ran as fast as she could to their source.

"Hope!" Sinbad called after her, quickly setting the basket in his arms down to follow.

"What_!_? What is it_!_?" Hope asked breathlessly when she reached the crowd, pushing her way through to her sister.

"It's Aladdin_!_! He needs CPR! They said he wasn't breathing…!" Faith explained as quickly and clearly as she could through her panic.

"_!_!_?"_ Hope gasped, eyes wide with fear when she saw the state Aladdin was in. "Move_!_!" she said sternly, taking on such a commanding tone that everyone immediately did as she asked. She kneeled down next to Aladdin and tilted his head back while pinching his nose, holding the side of her face close to his open mouth in order to see if she could feel his breath on her cheek.

"What's she doing_!_?" Alibaba asked.

"Shut up_!_! She's saving him!" Faith snapped impatiently, feeling too frazzled to be gentle.

"!" Hope's eyes widened again when she didn't feel anything. Without hesitation, she placed her mouth over Aladdin's and started giving him rescue breaths.

_"!_!_?"_ Alibaba, Morgiana, and everyone but Faith exclaimed, extremely bewildered by her actions.

Hope stopped and held her face sideways again, waiting to see if there was a change in his condition.

"What is this ruckus about?" Sinbad asked as he arrived on the scene with Ja'far. He couldn't believe the speed Hope was capable of when her sister was involved, especially in her current condition.

"Sinbad-sama_!_!" the troupe members cried.

"It's Aladdin…_!_!" Faith exclaimed.

Sinbad's eyes widened in alarm when he took in the situation before him and saw that Aladdin's flute was glowing. "This is bad_!_! Hurry, take that flute away from him_!_!" he yelled urgently.

"_!_?" Alibaba and Morgiana gasped in surprise, while Faith, though confused by an order she normally wouldn't have followed so easily, immediately yanked the flute from his hand. It stopped glowing almost instantly.

"W-What's happening_!_?" Alibaba asked, while the rest of the crowd began clamoring around anxiously, asking questions all at once.

"Quiet_!_!_!_" Hope shouted suddenly, so loud that she instantly drowned out the others, startling them. "Everyone freeze_!_! I can't tell whether what I'm feeling is him breathing or just air currents from ya'll moving around, so hold still for one freakin' second, okay_!_?"

Everyone stood stock-still, staring at her, stunned to hear such a harsh outburst from such a normally kind and quiet girl. They all watched and waited silently while she leaned down to check Aladdin's breathing again.

After a moment, Hope closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief as she sat up again. "He's breathing," she announced. She could hear everyone relax as they let out the breaths they had been holding, feeling reassured now that they knew Aladdin was still alive. She continued to check his other vitals. "But… his pulse is weak, and he feels cold. We should move him somewhere warmer for treatment…"

"She's right," Ja'far said after they had finished relocating Aladdin somewhere safer for him to rest. They had placed Ugo's flute beside him on the bed, far enough away that it wasn't touching him. "He's very weak… He's still alive, but he is in a very dangerous condition…"

"How can this… Just what happened to Aladdin_!_?" Alibaba asked anxiously.

"Yeah, this is way worse than that time in the dungeon…!" Faith said, extremely worried.

"The flute was glowing while he held it… He must have been trying to give Ugo more energy…" Hope said with no small amount of concern, holding her sister's hand.

"He overused his magoi," Sinbad said. "It's true that magi have unlimited use of the magoi around them. However, that is only for as long as the magi has sufficient strength. When Aladdin's strength was exhausted, the rukh were unable to gather any more magoi, and Aladdin could no longer take in the magoi from his surroundings… So he must have used his own magoi within his body—transferring them indefinitely to that flute…" he explained. "Using your magoi is the same as extinguishing your own life. Magoi is the same as human life. Both are phenomena created by the magoi of rukh. If your magoi is depleted… even if you are a magi, you will still die…"

"…!" Alibaba and Faith gasped while Hope bit her lip.

"I see…" Hope said sadly, reaching out to brush Aladdin's bangs out of his face. "That's how much Ugo means to him."

Faith squeezed her sister's hand. They were both holding back the tears that kept threatening to form in their eyes.

"So you're saying… Ugo means that much to Aladdin…" Alibaba said, trembling with tears in his. He gritted his teeth. "To him, Ugo isn't just an ordinary flute, but a very important friend!"

"…" Sinbad picked up the flute to examine it. _But the seal on the flute… the eight-pointed star hasn't returned…_ he thought, staring at its unmarked surface. The djinn's condition must be direr than he had realized. "In any case, Aladdin needs some rest," he said, putting it back. "It doesn't look like he'll be regaining consciousness anytime soon…"

"…" Alibaba, Morgiana, and the twins stared down at their friend with regret. If only they had found him sooner.

GROOOOWL~ The heavy silence was broken when Faith's stomach decided to sing them the song its people.

"… What?" Faith said when they all stared at her, completely shameless.

"I'll get the soup started," Hope said wryly, almost wondering if she had done that on purpose to break the tension. She wouldn't put it past her sister. Faith was a master at lightening the mood. "We can set aside some broth for Aladdin, for when he wakes up."

Hope and Morgiana worked together to make the soup in the designated cooking area, while Faith stayed in Aladdin's room with him. Sinbad, his subordinates, and Alibaba gathered the least injured troupe members together for another assembly. But even the delicious smell wafting from the giant pot that Morgiana was helping Hope stir couldn't take their minds off their worries. "What are we going to do from now on…?" the troupe members murmured anxiously.

"Ja'far, have you contacted our country?" Sinbad asked.

Ja'far nodded. "I have contacted them. If they work quickly, support will arrive in a week."

"One week, huh…" Sinbad said. He would have preferred sooner, but given the circumstances, he supposed it couldn't be helped. "All right, let's immediately plan our battle strategy. I'm also worried about the movements of the Kou Empire…"

"Onii-san… The situation doesn't look quite right, it seems…" M Nando whispered to his shorter older brother.

"Ah… It's about time we pack up and leave this place…" S Nando agreed.

"Boss_!_! Boss Alibaba_!_!" the rest of the troupe members began calling anxiously while they swarmed around him. "What should we do from now on_!_? What… What is going to happen to us, the Fog Troupe_!_?"

"…_!_!" Alibaba furrowed his brow and took a step back, sweating bullets. He gritted his teeth. He didn't know what to tell them. He hated that he couldn't give them any answers.

"…" Sinbad watched and waited to give Alibaba a moment to pull himself together. When the young prince didn't seem able to take control of the situation, he stepped in. "It will be all right! Calm down!" he said strongly, getting their attention.

"_!_?" Everyone, from Alibaba to the last troupe member present, turned to look at the king.

"I have said it before! No matter what happens, I will think of a way to help you all!" Sinbad reminded them. "Support is currently rushing over here from Sindria! So, you guys have to keep your spirits up so that you can act at that critical moment!"

"…" The troupe members stared at him in awe while his words sank in. Then they turned and looked at each other and nodded. "Continue tending to the wounded!" several men shouted as they dispersed to carry on their work. "Start handing out that soup!" a few more yelled.

"…" Alibaba watched them run off with renewed determination. He bowed his head and clenched his fists at his sides. He was glad… but he was also frustrated.

_Damn it… I really am useless…_ Alibaba thought bitterly while he helped tend the wounded in one of the larger rooms that they had decided to house the injured in. _Not only am I of no use… I can't even calm everyone down… If it's Cassim, he could have done better in leading everyone… Cassim… where in the world did you go? _he wondered anxiously.

"Hope-san, we're almost out of soup," Morgiana said, scraping the bottom of the pot with the ladle for another serving. They had been passing out bowls nonstop ever since the meeting ended.

"All right, I'll go get ingredients for more soup. Can you refill the pot with water?" Hope said, brushing her hands off on her skirt, as she stepped out from behind the table. "Hmm… I wonder what I can use for protein this time…" she mused aloud. "There's no meat, and we're out of beans, so…"

"Ah! Boss lady!" one of the men she passed called out. "Hey, boss lady! I know where you can find more beans."

Hope stopped walking when she realized he was talking to her. "Eh?" she said, turning back to look at him. "Boss lady…? You mean me?"

"Yeah!" he answered brightly, while the man next to him nodded enthusiastically. "After all, the way you beat back that freak attacking Boss Alibaba was amazing! It's really encouraging to know we've got someone like you on our side!"

"Uh… thanks?" Hope said, sweat-dropping. To be honest, she didn't even know how she did it, but they were so pumped up that it was hard to disappoint them. "You said you know where I can get more beans?" she asked, getting back to the reason why she had stopped in the first place.

"Sure! Follow me," the man said, leaving his friend's side to show her the way. He led her deeper into the hideout until they came to a doorway that only had a ragged curtain hanging over it to hide its contents from view.

Hope waited while he pulled the curtain aside to show her, but she wasn't at all prepared for what she saw. Her eyes immediately zeroed in on it the moment it was in view. The way the canvas tarp draped over its top. The reddish stains running down its side. The tarnished claws digging into the floor. She started trembling. Tears were streaming down her face before she could even begin to finish processing what she was seeing. "… Mommy…?"

The man with her turned his head in surprise when he heard a small, mournful voice that reminded him of a lost child. His eyes widened in shock as she fell. "Hey_!_! What's wrong_!_?" he asked anxiously, startled when she started wheezing hard and fast while she stayed on her knees, barely holding herself up with her hands.

Hope didn't answer. She couldn't. She knew what was happening, but her clumsy attempts to will herself back to reality were powerless to stop it. She just continued to stare straight ahead with wide, unseeing eyes as the highlight reel for the worst memories of her life played over and over again on a loop inside her head, while her emotions spiraled out of control. Water splashing. The closet. The blood. Her mother floating in the red water. The grief. The guilt. The blanket. The smell—Hope completely lost it, then. She didn't even feel it when she threw up, but she knew she must have, because she could smell it. She coughed, choking on some of it as she heaved again. Her breathing was worse. She was hyperventilating. Her vision was closing in.

"Hey_!_? Boss lady_!_!_?_ Heeeelp_!_!_!_ Somebody, help_!_!" the man with her yelled, disturbed by the way her sudden illness made her collapse and lose consciousness.

"What happened_!_?" Ja'far asked as he and Sinbad ran over with the man's friend when they heard his cries.

"_!_?" Sinbad gasped when he saw the way Hope had crumpled in on herself, lying next to a pool of vomit.

"She… I don't know…_!_!" the man said, panicking. "She just suddenly starting breathing weird and collapsed… Then she threw up and passed out!"

Sinbad immediately kneeled down to examine her. She was drenched in sweat. Her pale skin had taken on an almost ashen color, and she was cold and clammy to the touch. Hope looked like death warmed over, but she was still alive and still breathing.

"!" Faith flinched in surprise when Masrur suddenly shoved the door open and entered Aladdin's room with another bed tucked under his arm. She was about to crack a naughty joke, when Sinbad and Ja'far rushed in behind him, and she saw the condition her sister was in. "What happened…_!_?" she demanded, immediately jumping up from her seat to rush over to them, while Sinbad lay Hope down on the bed.

"She collapsed when she went to get ingredients for another pot of soup," Sinbad replied. "The man who was with her said she started having difficulty breathing when they reach the second storeroom, and she threw up after she collapsed…"

"Fortunately, there was no blood in her vomit…" Ja'far added. "But we aren't sure whether her injuries were the cause, or…"

"Whoa, wait_!_! Why would there be blood_!_?" Faith asked, startled.

"We saw her cough up blood when Judar attacked her," Ja'far reminded her. They thought that was what had made her try to attack the magi so viciously.

"Oh, that," Faith said, sounding slightly calmer. "Hope explained that to me. She said she bit her lip when she fell. See, you can see the cut there," she explained, pointing to the puncture mark on her sister's lip where her canine tooth had broken the skin. "It was just a coincidence."

"I see…" Sinbad said. He had been very worried about that. At least she really didn't have any internal bleeding. But, either way, these kids were dropping like flies!

"Was there a tub?" Faith asked abruptly with an uncharacteristically grim expression on her face. "A claw-foot tub with reddish stains and some kind of covering draped over the top?"

Sinbad and Ja'far exchanged a surprised, puzzled look with each other.

"Yes… There was…" Sinbad replied. He had caught a glimpse of it from the open doorway when they first approached, sitting inside the storeroom. The grimy rust bucket had probably once been something to brag about before it was abandoned as trash. "How did you know?"

"I recognized the symptoms. She'll be okay, once she's had some rest. The problem is psychological, not physical," Faith replied, letting out a sigh as she leaned against her sister's bed. "Damn!" she cursed, biting her thumb. "What the hell was one of those things doing here_!_?"

"What do you mean by 'psychological'…?" Ja'far asked.

"Sinbad, Masrur… Do you remember when I freaked out the other night, and Hope had to calm me down?" Faith asked.

"Yes," Sinbad answered, while Masrur nodded. "Are you saying this is the same thing? But your sister's symptoms…"

"Trouble_!_!_!"_ A shout rang out through the hideout.

_Damn! What now…!_? Sinbad thought, cursing their bad luck. It was just one thing after another tonight! "What is it?" he asked, instantly on alert, when a man came running into the room.

"We've got trouble, Sinbad-san!" the man said. "Right now, outside… The Imperial Army has started their attack_!_!"

Meanwhile, Alibaba, who had received a similar report, immediately rushed to the nearest window to have a look for himself.

"So they have finally begun their attack," one of the men near him wailed, panicking at the sight of the soldiers below. "We're doomed_!_!"

"No…? Look, everyone…" another said. "It doesn't seem like they are attacking…"

Alibaba saw what he meant. A very imposing man was marching at the front, flanked by several subordinates. But it was a very small group, and he recognized the leader. "That person is… Barkak! He's Balbadd's general…" Alibaba exclaimed. "What is he doing in this type of place…?"

Barkak gave a signal, and waited on guard as a carriage pulled forward. Alibaba's surprise at seeing the general was nothing compared to what he felt when its door opened and the occupant stepped out for everyone to see.

"…_!_?" Alibaba gasped. "That is…_!_?"

It was Balbadd's Deputy King, Sahbmad Saluja.


	50. Chapter 50

**Previously:**

Damn! What now…_!_? S_inbad thought, cursing their bad luck. It was just one thing after another tonight! "What is it?" he asked, instantly on alert, when a man came running into the room._

_"We've got trouble, Sinbad-san!" the man said. "Right now, outside… The Imperial Army has started their attack!_!"

_Meanwhile, Alibaba, who had received a similar report, immediately rushed to the nearest window to have a look for himself._

_"So they have finally begun their attack," one of the men near him wailed, panicking at the sight of the soldiers below. "We're doomed!_!"

"_No…? Look, everyone…" another said. "It doesn't seem like they are attacking…"_

_Alibaba saw what he meant. A very imposing man was marching at the front, flanked by several subordinates. But it was a very small group, and he recognized the leader. "That person is… Barkak! He's Balbadd's general…" Alibaba exclaimed. "What is he doing in this type of place…?"_

_Barkak gave a signal, and waited on guard as a carriage pulled forward. Alibaba's surprise at seeing the general was nothing compared to what he felt when its door opened and the occupant stepped out for everyone to see._

"…_!_?" _Alibaba gasped. "That is…!_?"

_It was Balbadd's Deputy King, Sahbmad Saluja._

* * *

**Chapter 50: Savior**

* * *

"Man, the shit's really hitting the fan tonight, huh?" Faith remarked, making her way forward through the crowd with Sinbad, Ja'far, Masrur, and Morgiana, who they met up with along the way. They could see the new intruders and their carriage, and that Alibaba had already beaten them to them.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather remain with your sister?" Ja'far asked her.

"Nah, she hasn't slept for the past few days, and she was running short even before that," Faith said, shoving her own anxiety over her sister's condition into a tiny box at the back of her mind. "She won't be up anytime soon, and she'll want to hear about what happened while she was out."

"…" Masrur glanced at her out the corner of his eye briefly before turning his attention to the people up ahead again. He, along with Sinbad and Ja'far, recognized their faces when they could see them. And, with his keen Fanalis ears, he could already hear some of their conversation with Alibaba.

"Young master, even though the Deputy King is in this state, he insisted on seeing you… just to tell you something important," Barkak, General of the Royal Army of Balbadd, told Alibaba with a hand placed on Sahbmad Saluja's trembling shoulder to support him. "To us, this place is our enemy's territory. Please try to understand how the Deputy King is risking his life coming here."

"Ah! If it isn't Sahbmad!" Sinbad greeted the timid man, stepping forward to insert himself into the conversation.

"O… Ojii-san," Sahbmad stuttered.

"For someone who is so afraid to appear in front of others, why are you here?" Sinbad asked. "It's rather plausible that… this is just another one of Ahbmad's orders, right? Be at ease. I will prepare a place for our discussion. And I will ensure your safety as well."

"O… Okay," Sahbmad agreed nervously. "But… I have to apologize… to have you face such dangers…"

Faith raised an eyebrow at that.

"Hmph… I understand now," Sinbad said calmly. "Although I have already figured that for someone to hold such important information, it had to be someone who holds a key role… If it's you, I can understand."

"?" the Fog Troupe members were confused.

"In other words, the one responsible for the information leaks about the military and your location at the hotel… was this guy?" Faith said. She and Hope had had the same suspicions as Sinbad, and it didn't get much higher than 'Deputy King'.

"Yes. They were all your doings, weren't they… Sahbmad!" Sinbad said, pointing at the man. He could understand why he did it, but it still pissed him off a little that he had tried to throw him to the sharks.

Alibaba and the other troupe members stared at the Deputy King in astonishment, stunned by the revelation.

"… That was an inevitable move. At the time, I couldn't let you defeat the Fog Troupe," Sahbmad said.

"… You're partners with the Fog Troupe?" Sinbad asked.

"It's… It's not like that…" Sahbmad said, fidgeting. "I… I don't have any affiliations with the Fog Troupe, nor have I met any of its members. Even so, I leaked that information to save them… because Alibaba was there."

"!" Alibaba gasped, surprised. It was obvious from the look on his face that he hadn't known about any of this.

"If Alibaba was with the Fog Troupe, they could probably do something for this country… Because since the beginning, Alibaba has always been someone who could do things that I never could," Sahbmad explained seriously, doing his best to put on a brave face as he raised his head. The truth was, he really admired his younger half brother.

"Deputy King…" Barkak said. So, that was how he felt.

"I had wanted Alibaba… to stop Ahbmad-oniisan…" Sahbmad continued, lowering his head again with shame at the thought of all the terrible things their older brother had done, of the things that he still planned to do.

"Stop? Ahbmad…?" Sinbad said, surprised. "Although it's true that the country is in shambles, and it can also be said that it is Ahbmad's fault as the king… However, is it that bad that you must rely on the help of a thieves' guild_!_?"

"Yeah. He's your bro, so why can't you just talk to him?" Faith added. "Are you scared of him or something?"

"…" Ahbmad flinched, and his trembling seemed to increase under their prodding. "Scared…? Yes… yes… I'm afraid of Ahbmad-oniisan…" he confessed. "But what should be feared are the things he does… No… that isn't right…" he said, holding a hand over his face. He was sweating bullets now. "Whatever it is, something scary is going to happen to this country… Just why did it lead to this… Not understanding this point should be what scares people the most…_!_!"

"… Sahbmad…" Sinbad said. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. He had never seen the Deputy King like this before. Not even on the days when his chronic anxiety was at its worse.

_Holy crap…_ Faith thought seeing the terrified expression on his face. The Deputy King looked like a character from a horror movie that just found out he was in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Whatever he knew, it must be cataclysmically bad. She wished Hope was there to calm him down. She was good at that, and he looked ready to break down any minute.

"… Allow me to explain from here," Barkak said, while his men tried to comfort Sahbmad. "This country started changing when the previous king fell ill."

Faith listened intently with the others while the general recounted the story behind the circumstances that resulted in the current situation. It began with the appearance of a man named Markkio, who had presented himself to Ahbmad as a 'Banker'. That mysterious person had come to the palace and claimed that he was an economic expert. He said that he had travelled to various countries and had managed their finances, and he offered his services to Balbadd. At that time, when their country was in a desperate situation because trade had stopped between their country and Partevia, they accepted him—someone with experience in managing the finances of many countries—to solve this problem. As part of his solution, the Banker introduced them to huang, the paper notes distributed by the Kou Empire as money.

_If this happened while the old king was still alive… I'm pretty sure Alibaba said his dad around two years ago… so I guess that lets Hope off the hook…_ Faith thought, knowing her sister would be relieved that she hadn't been responsible for Kou's decision to manipulate Balbadd's economy using paper money, since it had begun before they even came to this world.

She turned her attention back to Barkak while he continued his story. The Banker had told them they held a fixed value and advised them to use the large amount he had produced for them in their next trading session. During commercial trade with the Kou Empire's neighboring countries, the paper notes had indeed displayed an incredible power. Huang could transform into many high-valued gold products, working tools, daily necessities, and more. They were all awed by their power. And, so, they decided to use these paper notes called 'huang' in their country as well. When their country imported goods, they would pay using huang. They also received huang when they exported their goods. They were leant an unlimited supply of huang by the Banker. However, it came with a small amount of 'interest'. And hence, Balbadd's economy solely depended on huang.

"… Such stupidity," Sinbad said, frowning in disapproval. "To depend on another country which decides the value of these paper notes in your own country's economy…" Ahbmad was even more incompetent than he thought. How could he tie the nation's economic standards to such a thing?

"Why… Why is that?" one of the troupe members asked.

"You are right," Barkak told Sinbad grimly. "The value of each of these notes changes constantly, and this troubled our people. Items that only needed one huang the previous day would require two huang the next. In other words, the value was halved. Every change resulted in great losses for our economy," he explained.

"That is what scares many people," Sinbad said. "In the end, 'paper notes' are just ordinary papers. They don't hold much value in the first place. The value of paper notes is determined by the country which distributes them."

"Hmm… that's pretty much what Hope said…" Faith remarked, remembering the conversation they'd already had on the subject.

"Yes, your sister had a good grasp on the situation," Ja'far replied. "That is why, even though Sindria has the contract of using gold to exchange goods, it's only temporary, and we barely use it in our country. It's never used outside. The central bank which distributes the money is also prohibited from adding interest as well."

"Yeah, if you're not careful, the interest you owe can build up at a scary rate if you don't keep up with it…" Faith said, recalling the time one of their school friends got into trouble because she couldn't pay off the debt on the credit card that she had started without her parent's permission.

"Indeed," Barkak agreed. "Before we knew it, the debt we had accumulated to enormous proportions. Following that, it also became impossible to pay that small amount of interest that came with the debt. Coincidentally, the Fog Troupe began their activities at that time, which increased our military expenses as well. Because of the huge debt, our country had to keep borrowing. However, Markkio was not willing to lend us any more for free. As collateral, our various assets were frozen. Our authority on the seas, regulation rights, land concession contracts… recently, even our trade authority…"

Alibaba and the other troupe members paled in shock, horrified.

"That doesn't make any sense," Faith said with a frown. Why cripple a country's economy if they owed you money? You'd never get your money back that way. Also… "If that's the case, then why didn't you stop borrowing huang from the Banker and try switching to someone more reasonable who could help you trade the paper notes back to gold, or declare bankruptcy? Surely the upper classes would've noticed something was off and said something?"

"Unfortunately, the nobles and politicians who handle this country's politics couldn't sense the threat. Because the debt of the country didn't affect their standards of living at all," Barkak replied. "They also didn't care about the suffering of the common people caused by the huge debt, or the collapse of social security."

But the worst was yet to come. Faith couldn't believe her ears when she heard what happened next. When the nobles and politicians finally began to panic because they were desperate for more huang and were running out of resources to use as collateral, it was then that Ahbmad, who had been staring down at the people in the streets from the safety of his palace had said, "What are you talking about… There are still many more left. The next collateral… will be the citizens." The others in the room were taken aback. Since they didn't seem to understand, Ahbmad explained, "This country is still left with so many citizens! After the trade authority, we will use the citizens' human rights as collateral! With this, we can still borrow a lot more haung!"

"…" Faith frowned and clenched her fist. That better not mean what she thought it did.

"Hey… using the citizen's human rights as collateral, just what in the world does it mean…_!_?" Alibaba asked.

The Deputy King, who had overheard the conversation while hiding behind a pillar, was just as shocked and horrified as the Fog Troupe was now. He still was. "Ahbmad… he… decided to sell our citizens…_!_!" Sahbmad said, trembling harder as he spoke. "Selling off Balbadd's citizens to Kou, to Reim, or to Partevia… as a source for labor…_!_! Ahbmad decided to transform Balbadd into a slave-exporting country…_!_!"

"_!_!" Faith narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth in anger when her suspicions were confirmed. _Damn!_! she thought. _Of all the stupid…!_!

"Transforming Balbadd into a slave-exporting country_!_?" Alibaba repeated in shock, feeling sick to his stomach.

"In other words, Ahbmad, he has betrayed the citizens?" Sinbad said, narrowing his eyes in a furious glare. He was outraged. For a king to do such a thing to his own people was unforgiveable.

"Yes, that's right… Onii-san said it himself…" Sahbmad said, still trembling.

Everyone was on edge while they listened to him talk about what happened next. "The citizens do not matter to us at all, right?" Ahbmad had said. "As long as I, the king, am here, the country is here. Also, humans can reproduce as many as they want when there is a need to. If it's like this, we can borrow huang forever_!_!" The other nobles and politicians had only hesitated for a brief moment before accepting the king's proposal.

"No one… rejected that idea…" Sahbmad concluded.

Alibaba furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth in anger while the other troupe members started to panic. "That… What the hell is that_!_!?" his men cried in alarm.

"… The nobility and politicians in this country really are the worse kind of scum," Faith remarked coldly.

Sahbmad hung his head in shame. He couldn't deny that. "After that, the Kou Empire decided to take the citizens of Balbadd and sell them off as slaves to other countries…"

"Wait just a moment!" said S Nando, standing with his brothers. "While bad people, like us, trade and handle slaves, we have never heard of a country that would do such a thing."

"Sahbmad. Just what in the world is happening?" Sinbad asked sternly. "Has Ahbmad rotted to that extent?"

"I don't understand either," Sahbmad said with regret, biting his lip. "But Ahbmad-oniisan, as well as the other nobles and officials, have been spending money like it's nothing. They're unable to see anything else. The nobility and officials, to secure their own lifestyles, follow Ahbmad without question…"

Faith and Alibaba glanced at Morgiana when she suddenly stepped forward with a grim expression on her face.

_That's right… _ Faith thought. _Morgiana used to be a slave, so she knows better than anyone what'll happen if those assholes succeed in carrying out this crazy plan…_

"Deputy King!" Morgiana said, marching straight towards Sahbmad to stand face to face with him. "Are you asking for us to stop them? That's the reason you're here?" she asked earnestly.

Sahbmad was startled, but he managed to answer anyway. "Yes… That's right."

Morgiana immediately spun around to face her friends. "Alibaba-san, let's do this," she said anxiously, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Let us stop that ridiculous plan!"

Alibaba stared at her, eyes wide with astonishment. He could feel her hands trembling while she held him.

"Well, you can definitely count me in," Faith said, cracking her knuckles. "And I know Hope will say the same."

"Hey, hey… those girls…" S Nando said as a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. He and his brothers were soon covered with a sheen of nervous perspiration when they recognized them.

"Are extremely angry… Is it because they noticed us_!_?" L Nando asked anxiously. None of them wanted a repeat of what had happened the last time they crossed them.

"It's all right," S Nando reassured his brothers. "We are just typical thieves after all… those girls may not have remembered us…"

"We do remember," Morgiana and Faith stated bluntly, turning their heads to look at them.

"That isn't something we're likely to forget is it?" Faith added darkly with a vein throbbing on her forehead, cracking her knuckles again, while she glared at them. "I still haven't finished paying you three back for that time, have I? Where's the rest of our stuff? You'd better not have sold it already…" She and Hope had managed to recover their jewelry because it was in the same bag as Ugo's flute and the keys, but they hadn't been able to find their carry-on bag or the rest of its contents.

"At that time, you were planning on selling slaves too, weren't you? Why are you with the Fog Troupe_!_!" Morgiana asked sternly as they stalked dangerously towards the three brothers, who quickly shrank back in fear.

"Wait a second, Morgiana, Faith," Sinbad called out to stop them. "Although I don't know what conflict you have with them from before, they are currently also members of the Fog Troupe. We should allow Sahbmad to continue first."

The two girls stared at him.

"… Okay," Morgiana eventually relented.

"… Fine," Faith said grudgingly, turning back to the brothers to give them the evil eye, pointing two of her fingers from her eyes to theirs. "But I'm watching you..." she told them, giving off a threatening aura that made the brothers begin to consider actually returning the twins' belongings to them.

"I beg of you, Alibaba…" Sahbmad began again when he felt it was safe to speak. "If we don't hurry, the day of the contract signing ceremony will be upon us!"

"Signing ceremony, did you say?" Sinbad asked.

"Yes, that's right," Sahbmad said. "It's actually for the engagement between Ahbmad-oniisan and one of the Kou Empire's princesses. In… In five days, they will be holding the wedding ceremony. At the same time, they will be going through the contract signing ceremony with the citizens as the collateral…" He clenched his fists. "But if it's me, I can't stop them. That is why I'm here today… I'm begging you, Alibaba_!_! Please, with you power, stop Ahbmad-oniisan…_!_!" he pleaded desperately, startling his younger brother when he suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders. "If it's me, I won't be able to do anything…_!_!"

"…" Alibaba stared at him with wide eyes, speechless.

_Whoa! Way to lay on the pressure…!_! Faith thought, sweat-dropping. She thought it was strange that a Deputy King seemed to think Alibaba had more power than him as a leader of a bunch of thieves, but she assumed he must be talking about his crippling social anxiety. Even when surrounded by guards, he looked like he was in danger of being paralyzed by fear. All the power in the world wouldn't do you any good if you couldn't use it. She did not envy Alibaba. Judging by the sweat he had broken out in and the troubled expression on his face, he was struggling to come to terms with the huge amount of responsibility that had just been dumped on him.

Sinbad sighed. He could see Alibaba's hesitation, and it was obvious that this had become too much for him. "… I have understood everything you have said, Sahbmad. Just leave it to me," he said. "I will contact my allied countries, and we will come together to oppose the Balbadd government. Although I'm not certain that we would be able to make it in five days for the ceremony, I will absolutely stop this idiotic plan to export citizens as slaves!"

"Mmhmm… but…" Sahbmad said hesitantly, glancing between Sinbad and Alibaba.

"…" Alibaba could only stare back at his brother, wondering why he was looking at him.

Faith thought it was pretty obvious that Sahbmad still wanted Alibaba to be the one to save everyone, but Alibaba had an annoyingly clueless expression on his face that kind of made her want to hit him.

"Deputy King, it's about time we return," Barkak announced. The night was almost over. They needed to get back to the palace before Ahbmad awoke and noticed their absence.

"Mmhmm…" Sahbmad mumbled and slowly removed his hands from his brother's shoulders, knowing he was right.

"Young Master, we're counting on you…!" Barkak said seriously as they turned to leave.

"Ah… Ah-ah…_!_!" Alibaba said in agreement, apparently too stunned to give a more intelligible answer, while he stood there and watched them depart.

So, after causing quite a commotion for the Fog Troupe, Sahbmad returned to the palace. After that, the long night finally ended and brought in daybreak. Faith had retired to Aladdin and Hope's room with a yawn and was out like a light as soon as she curled up next to her sister.

But sleep continued to elude Alibaba, so he found himself sitting in a chair next to Aladdin's bed. "Hey, Aladdin… You and Hope still haven't woken up…" he said quietly with concern. He knew Aladdin couldn't hear him, but he needed to talk to someone. He had no idea how Faith could fall asleep so easily when there were so many things to worry about. "After you collapsed, Sahbmad-oniisan came. He said he wanted me to save this country… Although it's true that this country is facing a huge problem… and that someone has must do something about it… is that really something for me to do?" he asked.

"…" Faith, who wasn't as dead to the waking world as he had assumed, opened her eyes a little when she heard that, but closed them before he noticed and pretended to still be asleep.

"Aladdin… I've worked hard before, haven't I…?" Alibaba continued. "Joining the Fog Troupe and becoming their leader so as to change the country. But… no matter what I do, nothing comes out right… even though you expected something from me… but I think you were wrong after all."

Faith's eyebrow twitched.

"In this world, there are real heroes… That's right. For example… people like Sinbad-san… That person is simply amazing," Alibaba said wistfully. "He has great spirit, great strength, and great prestige. People like me wouldn't even be able to compare to him."

Faith frowned and silently removed herself from her sister's bed while he was busy staring out the window.

"Bringing everyone in the Fog Troupe together in an instant. Really, I can't compare to him at all… Isn't that right… Aladdin—_!_?" Alibaba said, startled when Faith suddenly delivered a karate chop to his head from behind. "Wh-What are you doing_!_?" he demanded incredulously. Who just hits someone like that? He was having a serious moment!

"Shut up. How the heck am I supposed to sleep with you acting so pathetic?" Faith retorted bluntly, putting her hands on her hips as she stared down at him. "Of course Sinbad is better than you at handling a crisis. He's had, like, at least ten more years experience living than you have. And he's already used to ruling a country. Of course he'd react better than a young noob like you."

"…"Alibaba looked away while he held his sore head, sulking. "I already know that…" he muttered, wondering why she felt the need to rub it in his face.

"But so what?" she continued strongly, causing him to look back at her in surprise. "'Don't compare the first chapter in your own story to someone else's twentieth'—is what Hope would say if she was awake. If you lack experience, then make it up! Keep working hard, and when you know better, do better. Aladdin would be pissed if he could hear you now," she said, heading for the door so she could use what passed as a bathroom in this place. She paused for a moment to turn back and point a finger at him. "Quit focusing on your weaknesses! You may not be a Sinbadass, but you have your own strengths, right?"

"…" Alibaba just stared as she left, stunned. He looked down and clenched his fists.

"Sin. What are you planning on doing from now on?" Ja'far asked his king, who was seated at a table with one cup and jug of wine, while Masrur stood against the wall behind him. They had retreated to another room for a little privacy while they finished processing the new information they had learned. "To think that the Kou Empire is at the center of all this. Even if we managed to discuss it with our allies, it may be of no use at all."

"Yes, I know that," Sinbad said. "Even if we found a way, it is still impossible to solve this problem entirely."

"That is because the country's system has already been broken quite badly," said Ja'far.

"Yes. That is why, to rebuild this country into an utterly different form, we need to rely on those people that serve this country wholeheartedly," Sinbad replied.

"Are you planning on destroying the current king's rule?" Ja'far asked. "For example, by pushing Alibaba as a candidate for the king's position."

"Alibaba, huh…" Sinbad said, picking up his cup. "Right now, we can't expect much from him. I have considered him before, but his strength as well as his confidence aren't enough. Aladdin… why did Aladdin choose him in the first place… I had high hopes for Hope after she managed a partial djinn equip, but it doesn't look like we can rely on her for much either… She doesn't have enough fortitude…" he mused with regret, draining his cup of wine. They couldn't have her collapsing like that again. Seeing her fall short of his expectations had disappointed him the most.

"Hey, Sin, it's this early in the morning, and you're already drinking so much," Ja'far scolded him, wishing he would slow down. The wine jug was already near half empty.

"I can't help it…" Sinbad said grumpily, feeling irritable from lack of sleep. "Ever since arriving in this country, I haven't even gotten a single moment of rest…"

_WHAM!_ Ja'far and Sinbad flinched in surprise as all three men turned their heads when the door abruptly slammed open without warning.

Morgiana and Faith stood in the open doorway and glared at Sinbad. The floor had cracked a little beneath Morgiana's feet, and Faith was holding the door handle so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. They had overheard enough from the hall to be pissed with him.

"Did something happen, Morgiana? Faith?" Sinbad asked, a little confused when he noted how angry they seemed to look.

"The treatment of the wounded has been completed," Morgiana reported crossly, while Faith narrowed her eyes at him, too furious to speak.

"Is that so… thanks for informing me. Go ahead and take a rest then," Sinbad told her kindly.

"All right… but before that, I have something to ask," Morgiana said coolly.

"What is it?" Sinbad asked.

"You seemed to know that person called Judar as well as the people that were behind him," she said. "Just who are they?"

"…" Sinbad was silent for a moment, suddenly looking very serious. "It's about that, huh. I understand, we can talk about it later," he said, adopting a lighter expression so the girls wouldn't worry. "But you must be tired, so take a break for today."

"I understand," Morgiana said, turning away to face the door. "Please explain everything in full detail later. Because I would like to understand my opponents clearly." She reached out and opened the door again. "Then, I will take my leave."

"Ah, yes," Sinbad said, wondering why her tone sounded so strict with him. He also noticed that Faith hadn't moved a muscle since entering the room.

"Also, about Alibaba…" Morgiana said, pausing in the doorway. "He does look like… he doesn't have any confidence… But he saved me when I was a slave. It wasn't just anyone. It was him. Hence, this is how I feel… the one who is able to save this country… is him!" she stated with absolute certainty and determination.

Sinbad and his subordinates stared at her in astonishment.

"Then… I will take my leave now…" Morgiana told them, stepping out and closing the door behind her, while Faith stayed. She could tell the older girl still had something to say to them.

"… Are you all right…?" Sinbad started to ask Faith, growing concerned by her strange behavior, when she suddenly closed the distance between them and slammed her good hand on the table with a loud _bang_, nearly knocking his cup over.

"Ya'll think… Hope lacks fortitude…_!_?" she growled incredulously, keeping her head low, so that her face was cast partially in shadow, and her eyes were hidden by her bangs. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about… My sister is not weak…_!_!_!"_ she yelled furiously, raising her head to glare at him. If looks could kill, the king of Sindria would have burst into flames right then and there.

Sinbad stared at her with wide eyes, startled by the sudden outburst.

"You have no idea what she's been through… What she's still going through…" Faith said sternly. "That storm we told you about… did you think being attacked by looters was the only thing we had to deal with_!_? Didn't you think it was strange that she could face those looters the other night, yet she freaked out at the mere sight of tub_!_?"

"…" Sinbad was silent, wondering where she was going with this.

"If that's the case, then let me tell you the whole story_!_! See who lacks fortitude then_!_!" she snapped. "It happened ten years ago. There was plenty of warning before the storm hit… plenty of time to get out… But we'd had so many misses from other hurricanes that a lot of people thought this one would miss too. Everyone knew for certain that it was coming days in advance, but the forecasts of where it would hit were only educated guesses. We stayed in the city because our mom was a nurse, and she had to stay behind as part of the skeleton crew at the hospital she worked at, because it was easier than trying to evacuate all of the patients whose conditions were too serious for them to be able to leave on their own. The day before it hit, the storm had become so strong, that the mayor issued a mandatory evacuation, because the storm was expected to make landfall overnight. A lot of people still didn't leave. At that time, the only ones left were either poor, employees essential to maintaining the basic infrastructure—like for the water pumping station, hospitals, police, or emergency responders—or people who were just too stupid for their own good. Our mom still had to stay for the hospital, but she tried to get us out. The rest of our family living in the state had already gone… so she tried to get our dad to come get us, but his work prevented it…"

Sinbad frowned and furrowed his brow. If it had been his father, he would have come no matter what. No matter what the obstacles, his father would have found a way to make sure his family was safe.

"We didn't want to leave her anyway," Faith continued. "Especially Hope… she was worried about what would happen if our mom had to stay there alone. And we already had enough emergency supplies for the three of us. We always kept a basic disaster supplies kit with three days worth of food for each of us in our pantry during hurricane season, and we made sure we had at least one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days for drinking, and Mom filled the tubs in both bathrooms in case we ran out, and to use for sanitation. She boarded up the windows and made sure anything outside the house that could've been tossed around by the winds was secured. We were scared, so she let us sleep in her bed with her. It was unusually quiet that night… we had started to think maybe we wouldn't be hit after all, that the storm might have turned at the last minute…" she said with a frown. "But then we woke up the next morning to the sound of the nearby electrical transformers exploding… We couldn't see anything because all the windows were covered, but that's what Mom said it was, because our power went out." They knew that because the LED display on her alarm had died, and they couldn't get the lights to come on. "Another hour passed. The winds were so ferocious, it sounded like they were howling. And, above all that, we could hear the sound of glass shattering and metal being sheared off the roof or scraping the pavement. The three of us huddled together with a flashlight, and Mom tried to tell us a story to calm us down… but we mostly listened to the storm's groans. We switched rooms when the ceiling started leaking. It went on like that for hours…"

_That must have been terrifying for them…_ Sinbad thought, feeling sorry for the frightened little girls he pictured the twins as.

"That first day was insane…" she said grimly. "The first floor of our house started flooding in the middle of breakfast, so our mom made us wait on the stairs while she rescued our emergency supplies. The water in the tub on that floor was contaminated. We expected more flooding after learning a levee breached, so Mom took us to work with her, and we hitched a ride with one of her coworkers who owned a boat. It was pretty miserable there. Me and Hope did our best to stay out of the way while we entertained ourselves, and our mom got another ride to take us back home at the end of the day. The second day, Mom let us stay at home. We heard on the radio that the governor issued an order for the emergency shelters that they had set up to be evacuated, and she had buses commandeered to start taking the people there out of the city. The National Guard was deployed to help restore order when the looting started. The third day, Mom wanted to take us to work with her again, because we were the only ones left in our neighborhood, and she didn't want to leave us on our own with all of the looting and other violence going on… but her bosses wouldn't allow it. We found out later that it was because they were evacuating the patients at the hospital… the ones who couldn't be moved were euthanized… That's probably why our mom seemed so freaked out when she came home. She wasn't herself…" Faith clenched her fist. "We finished the last of our bottled water that night and had to refill them with water from the upstairs tub. The looting was worse the next day. We actually heard gunshots coming from somewhere in our neighborhood…"

Sinbad couldn't help but wonder about many of the items she mentioned. Radio? Buses? Gunshots? He had never heard of these things before. He wanted to ask her about them, but decided to wait until she had finished her story. She seemed very determined to make him listen.

"Now… this is the part I really want you to pay attention to…" Faith said grimly with a hard expression. "I must have dosed off after lunch, because the next thing I knew, I was waking up to the sound of Hope screaming… I cried out for Mom and ran down the hall to see what was wrong. Hope came running out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her before I could see what was in there… I'll never forget the look on her face… When I asked her why she screamed… she didn't want to tell me. She made some lame excuse and told me to go ahead and get started on supper without her. When I tried to push past her, she stopped me and dragged me back to our room before telling me the truth—our mom was dead."

"…_!_!" Sinbad's eyes widened in horror.

"I didn't understand how she could suddenly be dead. So I yelled at my sister and called her a liar. And I kept pestering her until she finally explained what had happened. Our mom had committed suicide. We were both in our room when it happened. Hope found her bleeding out in the tub when she went to the bathroom. It was only then that I noticed the watery bloodstains on my sister's shirt. She had tried to save her, but it was too late. Our mom had lost too much blood and slipped down below the water's surface to drown… She was probably already gone when Hope found her. I tried to go into the bathroom to see her, but Hope wouldn't let me. She said it was bad enough for one of us to see it, and she didn't want me to have to go through that too… but she knew that wouldn't stop me. The upstairs bathroom door had weird lock on it… It could be locked from the outside… so Hope did that and hid the key while I wasn't looking. Our mom was too heavy to move, and we wouldn't have known what to do with her even if we could, so she draped a blanket over the tub in an attempt to preserve her dignity or something… I was mad, because I wanted to say goodbye… but she did it to protect me…"

"…" Sinbad felt his heart breaking for them. He had lost his parents at a young age too, but he had lost them to war and illness… For a mother to abandon her own children and kill herself… he didn't understand how she could do that them.

"It got worse," Faith said, looking like she was in danger of crying. "The looters came on the fifth day… you know what happened then. We were already out of food. So they tried to take our water along with anything else they could carry off that looked valuable… A human being can only go three days without water before they die. We knew that because our mother was a nurse… and we also knew the water left in the tub was unusable… So I tried to stop them and take it back. But I was just a kid who didn't even know how to fight. Hope got hurt when she ran over to shield me when one of them tried to hit me with the butt of his knife. He hit her hard enough to make her bleed. I screamed and cried, but she wouldn't move… I thought she was dead… That was the first time I ever caused a poltergeist… It scared the shit out of them."

"Poltergeist…?" Sinbad asked. That was another word he had never heard before.

"Yeah, you know… causing objects to move around on their own… making light bulbs and other glass things break… banging noises…" she said, ticking each phenomena off on her fingers while she spoke.

Sinbad thought that sounded a lot like magic.

"Anyway, I was so relieved when Hope woke up again_!_!" Faith exclaimed with a sigh. "But… the looters had still gotten away with most of our water. We only had enough to last the two of us through the night. It was hot and humid, and our throats were dry when we woke up the next morning. The only water left in the house was in Fred and George's—our dwarf hamsters—water bottle, but we couldn't take it from them, because they needed it just as much as we did. Besides, there was only a quarter of it left anyway, not even enough for each of us to have a full mouthful. We spent the rest of the day moving as little as possible and listening to the radio to see when help would arrive. The eighth day was pure hell. Our mother's… body… had started to smell within hours of her death… Have you ever smelled a dead body, I mean a decaying one…? It has a rank and pungent smell mixed with a tinge of sickening sweetness. Imagine the smell of the mouth of person with the worst dental hygiene possible, full of the scent of tooth decay. Take that stench and magnify the odor about 1,000 times. Combine that scent with strong morning urine or urine after eating asparagus, mixed with diarrhea and sat in an unflushed toilet, add a touch of the sweet scent of a used wine glass that sat overnight and rotting meat, and you're somewhat close to the odor of death…"

Sinbad and Ja'far felt nauseous just hearing about it.

"Now, imagine being stuck in a house that's had all of its windows boarded up. By the eighth day, the stench was so overwhelming, that we were literally choking on it… Imagine knowing the source of that smell making your eyes water and your nose and throat burn is your own mom… Couple that with the knowledge that you were about to die of thirst and hunger, and all the pain that comes with it… How do you think a child would react in that situation? I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't do anything except lay there and cry… because, on top of everything else, Fred and George had died. They were over two years old… so it was probably just their time… but it was too much for me. I was hysterical, paralyzed with fear. We were alone. We'd been attacked…I thought me and my sister were next…"

"…" Sinbad reached out and placed his hand over hers in an attempt to comfort her. He doubted anything he imagined could ever begin to compare with what they must have felt while trapped inside that house.

Faith surprised him a little when she grabbed it and raised her head to look him straight in the eye, dead serious as she continued. "But not Hope," she said. "Even though I know she was just as scared and lonely as I was… she hadn't given up! She was still thinking of me and trying to find a way for us to survive. While I was wallowing in self-pity… she went back into the bathroom. She knew from the smell and the flies buzzing around what she would find in there, but she went in anyway… because she remembered our mom had told her before that the water inside the tank at the top of the toilet was sanitary... What she saw in there was so disturbing, that she had to stop to throw up in the hallway… but she kept going! She took those empty bottles and refilled as many as she could…_!_!" She squeezed his hand harder. "She saved us. With that water, we were able to last another two days… she kept us alive long enough for the army to rescue us! If it wasn't for her, we'd be dead_!_!"

"_!_!" Sinbad's eyes were wide with astonishment. To think that they had faced something so terrible at such a tender age… Not only that, despite all obstacles, Hope had overcome her fear to secure their survival.

"But… even though we were rescued, it took us a long time to get over it…" Faith said sadly with a frown as she released his hand. "Hope blamed herself for our mom's death… even though it wasn't her fault, she held herself responsible for not being able to save her… I don't think she's ever forgiven herself. That's why she had such an extreme reaction, the guilt. She didn't just see a tub, she saw our mom's death. She's always been more sensitive than me, and I mean that in a good way. She's also has a really creative mind... So when she saw that covered tub here, with the same kind of claw feet as our old one, her imagination filled in the gaps. The beans under the blanket became our mom's corpse… the rust stains became blood… Her mind forces her to relive every excruciating detail, right down to the smell… And she's been carrying that with her ever since we were eight_!_! We've both learned how to cope since then… and she's been through things that would drive most people insane… But on the rare occasions when she does actually have a full-blown attack, like last night… I guarantee that when she wakes up, she'll act like nothing's wrong. Her only concern will be how it affected the people around her. So, tell me… do you still think my sister 'doesn't have fortitude'_!_?" she finished hotly, shooting him a sharp glare, before turning on her heel and stomping out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

"…" Sinbad stared at the closed door for a long moment before raising his hand to scratch the back of his neck. He felt like the worst sort of cad for doubting Hope now that he had heard the full story behind her panic attack. "… Ja'far. About what we were talking about, the thing about Alibaba and Hope… It seems that it is still too early to determine whether they're good candidates or not."

"That is because you're drunk, Sin," Ja'far stated bluntly.


End file.
